Star Wars RWBY: Beacon of Hope
by Dappere
Summary: For over a thousand generations, the Jedi knights were the protectors of the galaxy… Now they are scattered, lost, destroyed… An era of darkness has fallen over the galaxy under the iron grip of Vader and his Emperor… Yet like the endless abyss of space, even in the darkness, there is light... Beacons... The glimmers of hope…
1. Episode 1: Friends and enemies

**A Long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...**

 **STAR WARS RWBY**

 **EPISODE I**

 **Friends and Enemies**

 **It is a period of civil war. Squadrons of Rebel fighters harass Imperial convoys, desperate for supplies.**

 **One such squadron, led by the brave RUBY ROSE seeks to ambush an undefended Imperial convoy. Unbeknownst to her however, Imperial Captain WEISS SCHNEE stands ready to intercept the squadron and protect the convoy.**

 **Nearby on the barren planet of Tatooine, YANG XIAO LONG searches for her long lost sister. Unaware of the dangerous Imperial assassin sent to find her….**

The near silence of the bridge gave Weiss a sense of pride. The low thrum of computers, the soft beeps of machinery, the clink of Imperial issue combat boots against metal. There was no chatter, her crew were running at peak efficiency, everyone concentrating on their specific task, they had no time for idle banter. Discipline, efficiency, success. These were the principles Weiss drilled into her underlings.

"Captain Schnee, we are about to exit hyperspace," Lieutenant Cardin Winchester said as he came to a halt next to Weiss, both looking out the view port. "Are we prepared for the ambush Lieutenant?" Weiss enquired,

"Yes mam, all systems are functional and ready for combat," Cardin grinning with eagerness for the coming fight. He was a brute, a brute with dangerous ambitions, but he did have great enthusiasm for his work. Weiss let a smile through her usual cold defences, "The rebels will not know what hit them."

* * *

"This is Ace leader, all ships report in,"

"Ace one, standing by,"

"Ace two standing by"

"Ace three standing by"

"Ace four standing by"

"Ace five standing by"

Ruby nodded with satisfaction as all her squad reported in. "All right everyone, the imperial cargo ship should be entering the system in under three minutes. The plan is simple, as soon as they enter the system we hit them hard and fast."

"We got it Ace leader, we went over the plan at least a hundred times back at base," Sun chiming in with confidence,

"Yeah Ruby, this is a milk run stop worrying," Neptune laughing along with Sun. Ruby just shook her head, despite the fact that for all intents and purposes it should be an easy mission, she couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen.

"Okay, here it comes people, lock S-foils in attack position," Ruby triggered hers as she commanded the rest of her squad to do so. Double checking her systems she flew towards the co-ordinance where the imperial cargo ship was supposed to exit hyperspace. Behind her, one by one, her squad followed suit, the six X-wings leaving the small asteroid field that they had hid in.

In a perfect V formation Ace squad emerged from the asteroid field. Suddenly, as predicted an imperial ship emerged from hyperspace almost exactly where the intel said it would. Ruby's eyes grew wide, instead of a cargo ship, before her now stood an Imperial star destroyer. "Pull back! It's a trap, everyone prepare to jump!"

"Ruby, we are too close to the asteroid field, if we jump we will be ripped to shreds!" Neptune shouting in panic over the comms.

"Commander Rose what are you orders!" As the series of panicked cries came over the comms, the star destroyer opened fire, green laser bolts coming just short of the X-wing squad. "Stay in formation, we gotta make it away from the asteroid field," Ruby commanded with determination.

"But the only way through-" Sun started

"Is past the star destroyer," Neptune finished. Ruby pushed her engines to full acceleration, shooting away from the rest of her squad, the turbo laser fire now arcing just past her ship. "Full power to front deflectors everyone! Prepare for TIE fighters!"

* * *

"Captain, they are coming right at us," one of the officers informed Weiss from their station. Weiss stayed focus on the six small star fighters that came racing towards her ship. "Very bold, very bold indeed," Weiss murmured under her breath, "Launch TIE Fighter squads A through C, don't let them past us."

"Ace Leader we have three groups of TIE Fighters coming right at us!"

"Stay on course, pass over the star destroyer, their turbo lasers will have a hard time hitting us if they are trying not too hit their friends." Ruby said through gritted teeth as she manoeuvred skilfully through the star destroyers heavy fire. A bolt streaked past her, impacting the ship to her left, the X-Wing exploding instantly. "We lost Ace 4!"

"Stay on course!" Ruby shouting as she grimaced at the loss of one of her squad mates. The star destroyer's fire lessened as the TIE Fighters came within range. "Open fire! disperse the TIE fighters!" Ruby slamming the triggers as hard as she could. Several streams of red laser fire erupted form her squad, taking out a pair of unsuspecting TIE fighters. The enemy ships broke off in two groups, flying to the squads left and right, attempting to engulf them. "Break away!" Ruby cried out, spinning her X-wing violently. Her squad broke apart, all attracting smaller groups of TIE fighter in pursuit. "I got three on my tai-" the comm cut suddenly, another X-wing behind Ruby succumbing to the blaster fire of TIE fighters.

Ruby feinted left and right, only just avoiding the fire of the TIE fighter pursuing her. Flipping her deflector shields to cover her behind, she started her pass over the star destroyer. Occasional laser fire shots out from the turbo laser turrets now below her. _Cautious fire, the captain doesn't throw away lives like most Imperials._ Ruby was glad she had trusted her instincts on this one.

* * *

"Hold your fire unless you have a clear shot, do not hit our fighters, I will not have friendly fire on my ship." Weiss ordering with a forceful wave of her hand. Cardin looked at her with confusion, "Captain, if we hold our fire then they will surely escape,"

"Have confidence, we will prevail," Weiss speaking with a supreme confidence. Cardin grumbled, muttering under his breath. "Lieutenant if you have something to say then say it," Weiss finally looking away from the battle, her scrutinising gaze falling upon her Lieutenant. Cardin frowned, "No mam, nothing to say,"

"Good."

* * *

"I can't shake them!" Neptune cried out as he ducked his ship underneath laser fire.

"I'm coming in," Sun said, managing to stay calm. Twisting away from his own tail, Sun flew up behind Neptune, blasting away the TIE fighter in pursuit of his friend. Behind them more of their squad mates met bitter ends, unable to outrun or out manoeuvre their attackers.

Three ships, Neptune, Sun and Ruby passed by the star destroyer. A horde of TIE fighters pursuing them, the main ship now having access to more easy shots. Ruby flew ahead of the three ships, the other two keeping in V formation behind her. "Ruby we are nearly there, just a little more… There! ready for hyperspace jump!" Neptune cheering enthusiastically into the comms. Ruby felt no joy over the small victory of escaping, it had cost her most of the team. Suddenly both Neptune and Sun's ships shuddered. "Oh crap, they have a tractor beam is getting a lock on us!" Sun cried out as he frantically tried to escape the hold on his ship. Neptune didn't say anything, too absorbed in trying to find a way out of the lock. "I've got you!" Ruby yelled as she flipped her ship back around, now turning to face the small fleet of TIE fighters and the menacing star destroyer. "No Ruby get out of here!" Sun calling on Ruby's now silenced comm system.

Ruby flew above her two team mates, opening fire with her laser cannons. She caught another pair of TIE fighters with her fire. Now she flew in between her friends and her enemies, the tractor beam now catching her instead. In retaliation, frustration and defeat ruby fired her proton torpedoes, the explosion destroying several more TIE fighters. Behind her Sun and Neptune zipped away, managing to jump away just in time. Out of options and surprises, Ruby admitted defeat, slamming her hand down on her control panel as she was slowly pulled towards the metal behemoth that assuredly meant her end.

* * *

"Captain, we have pulled in one of the rebel fighters, the other two managed to escape."

"Very well, have the pilot escorted to the holding cells for interrogation," Weiss turned to leave, her eyes flicking to her Lieutenant as she did so. Once again she caught hints of anger in his face, "Something wrong Mr Winchester," Weiss purposefully leaving out his rank. Cardin grew red in frustration,

"You let two of them escape! If we had used all of our weapons we would have obliterated them!"

"If we did we would have most assuredly killed our own people,"

"Why did we even send out the TIE fighters then!" Cardin moving to within striking distance of Weiss. She had expected this, he had after all been the one scorned for promotion in her place, it was only a matter of time before something like this was to happen. "Those X-wing class fighters are incredibly agile, and even have shielding capabilities, our fire power while great, is not precise enough to take out so skilled a group of pilots."

"That rebel scum could barely be called pilots, they are just jumped up criminals, terrorists!"

"Be that as it may Cardin," Weiss now dropping all form of respect for the man, "they are our enemy, and it pays not to underestimate them. Two may have escaped, but we managed to capture what I believe to be their leader, the information we pull out of him could be invaluable to hunting down the rest of the rebels."

* * *

Blake knelt before the holo projector. A blue light enveloped the dark room as a hologram phased into existence. "Inquisitor Belladonna, you have a new mission," the hologram speaking in a neutral tone. Blake looked up to see Adam's face, his eyes covered by his red visor. "You are to go the planet Tatooine, there is rumoured to be a young Jedi there," Adam's voice as usual was filled with a mixture of anger and glee.

"What am I to do with the jedi?" Blake asked hesitantly, yet interjecting an air of reverence. Adam looked down at her quizzically, "You are to destroy them of course. Hmm, is something wrong Blake… you seem… different."

"I'm fine Adam," Blake subconsciously started playing Pazzak in her head. Adam continued to looked confused, "You are hard to read Blake, just don't fail this time. Lord Vader is becoming frustrated with your recent… performance." Blake nodded, lowering her head as the hologram faded.

She breathed a sigh of relief, glad the Pazzak trick had worked and hidden her surface feelings. Blake strode out of the small dark conference room, moving with purpose in order to further avoid any contact with the stormtroopers and naval officers that inhabited the star destroyer. Thankfully for the most part they all avoided her, all cautious of the dangerous inquisitors that worked for the Emperor directly.

Blake found her quarters without interruption. The room was sparse, the life of an inquisitor was spent on the move, leaving little room for personal effects. All she had to her name was the clothes on her back, the lightsabers on her belt and above all these, the Jedi holocron. She retrieved it from the hidden compartment she had made. The gold trimmed crystalline cube felt comforting in her hands, the holocron always being strangely warm to touch. Puling back her dark hood she sat crossed legged, placing the holocron on the floor in front of her. Closing her eyes she cast her mind outwards. She felt the life moving around the ship, she could feel the soft thrum of the engine, the methodic breath of the ships life support systems.

She let out her own breath. Focusing now on the holocron, she could hear the soft clicks as it opened. She opened her eyes as a blue image took form. The old Jedi master started the recorded lessons. At this point Blake had nearly memorised all of the lessons, but they were still calming to listen too. Yet while comforting, there was always a small feeling of regret that hit Blake when she listened to the holocron.

It had belonged to a young Jedi, like all that remained he was on the run form the Empire. He was just another target for Blake. She caught up too him on Dantooine, a planet that held the ruins of an ancient Jedi temple. In those very ruins she fought the Jedi, using her hatred and anger to overpower him. In the end he laid down his lightsaber, accepting his death.

Blake struck him down without hesitation. There in the ruins she stood victorious. Then it hit her, the years of repression, frustration and sadness. In the ruins that reminded her of her homeworld, she realised her true enemy.

Since that day Blake had studied the ways of the force anew, in secret. Any Jedi she was sent after somehow escaped. Her ruse could only last so long, and she knew it. They had begun to suspect her and she had decided that now was the time to run. First though she had to warn the young Jedi on Tatooine.

* * *

Yang slammed back another drink, adding the empty cup to her small collection. The cantina was quiet at this time of night, only a few regular patrons still in attendance. Thankfully the band had finally stopped, after having played the same song for what seemed like an eternity at the request of an Ithorian sitting the front row. It was all quiet now, leaving Yang truly alone with her thoughts.

For the second time in her life she lost her sister. Both times at the hands of the Empire. The first had been when they had come for her father, she could still picture her mother pulling them away as her father fought off the Imperial assassin. Yang broke free of her mothers grasp and had tried to help, but it was too late. She remembered her fathers face as he was struck down by the red blade. Her hand drifted down to her boot, where she hid her fathers lightsaber. Clutching it lightly she remembered the last time she saw her sister, all those years ago.

Over a year ago Yang started her search, after spending several years moving from place to place, she finally had her own ship. Taking what jobs she could, Yang had slowly bought information and made certain friends, all to find out where her sister was, and if she was still alive. Finally a friend had told her of a crack pilot who had joined the Rebel Alliance, Yang had known it was her. As much as she hated her 'gift', the force was damn useful for these things.

Then, a few hours earlier, her same friend had informed her that her sister had been ambushed, and was presumed dead. Yang paid the bartender, giving a handsome tip as she sauntered out of the cantina. Tatooine nights were cold, but Yang was too drunk or upset too care. Stumbling through the empty streets Yang let a few tears roll down her cheeks. Her purpose for the last year was gone, her sister was gone, she didn't have anything else to push her on. She was defeated.

It took Yang much longer to get back to the spaceport than she expected, having taken several wrong turns. As she walked towards her ship she noticed a figure out of the corner of her eye. Pretending to be more intoxicated than she was, Yang slowed down, hand always close to her double barrel blaster carbine that sat holstered at her side.

The figure remained in the corner of her vision, clearly following her. as Yang entered her hangar she stopped, standing idle for a few seconds. Straining her hearing she heard the soft patter of feet. She spun, pulling her blaster free and pointing it at the entrance.

Standing in the darkness stood a figure garbed in black. The figures face was hidden by a black hood, but the slightly revealing outfit proved the assailant to be female. Yang grew panicked, visions of her fathers death flashing before her eyes. "Assassin…" Yang muttered under her breath, "Jedi, I'm here too wa-" the figure was cut off as Yang fired.

Her twin blaster bolts missed Blake, who had dodged just in time. Yang continued to fire, her bolts were wild and random. Blake pulled her lightsaber from her belt and ignited it, now swatting away the blaster fire. "Stop! I'm here to warn you!"

"Shut up! I'll kill you!" Yang screamed in anger, her eyes alight with fury, watching the familiar red blade in Blake's hands. Blake pushed out with the force, throwing Yang back into the hull of her own ship. With a grunt Yang steadied herself, throwing aside her blaster. "You… You killed them, you took my family away," Yang said through gritted teeth. Blake looked stunned, staring at the woman before her. She had felt hate, felt the darkside before, and had used it. This was no Jedi, whoever this woman was, she was consumed by anger.

"Calm down, don't use your hate, you're a Jedi," Blake pleaded. Yang took no notice, only growling in response as she circled her opponent. Closing her eyes Yang touched the force, letting it flow through her once more. It was like a drug, one that Yang had not used for some time, now flooding back into her system. The lightsaber in her boot shook slightly, before jumping up into her hand. She activated it, the yellow light further illuminating the open hangar. "Listen to me, I'm not here to kill you, I'm not here as an inquisitor. Calm down let us speak for a moment," Blake lowering her lightsaber as she spoke, deactivating it.

Yang rushed forward, swinging the yellow blade in a downward arc. Blake rolled out of the way, reigniting her own blade. Yang's lightsaber cut into the ground, her body rushing forward from her momentum. Pulling it free she swung again, this time her blade met Blake's. The two lightsabers crackled against each other, the two now locked in a battle of strength. Yang pushed Blake back, her face set in a look malice as she did so. Blake used to force to trip Yang up, disrupting her focus Blake managed to push her back, and move to a safe distance. "Stop! I don't want to fight you!"

"You took them away from me!" Yang screamed back, lunging desperately. Knocking Yang's lightsaber to the side, Blake stepped to her left as Yang came barrelling after her deflected blade. Letting out another cry Yang spun, her lightsaber spinning with her. Blake pulled forth her Shoto lightsaber, igniting it and forming a cross with her other blade. Yang hit Blake's defence, becoming locked in another battle of strength. Yet this time, Blake closed her eyes and focused, channelling the force to give her extra strength. On the edge of her mind she could feel Yang's anger, she could feel the seductive call of the darkside. It begged her to unleash it, to beat back this sorry mistake for a Jedi, to strike her down and prove her power.

Yet she resisted, opening her eyes to focus on her opponent. Blake watched as Yang's eyes slowly changed, the lilac iris' slowly growing yellow with hints of red forming on the outer ring. She had seen those eyes many times. "Don't succumb to the darkside… calm yourself…there is no need to fight… We are on the same side…" Blake managed to say through grunts as she held off Yang.

If Yang could hear her, she did not make any indication. Using as much willpower as she could, Yang pushed out with the force, sending Blake flying back into the wall of the hangar. A smile crept onto her face as she strode confidently over to the assassin. Blake held out her lightsabers defensively, making no moves to attack. Yang started wailing on her, she had no form, no technique, only the strength her anger gave her. Blake started to buckle under the assault, arms sore form absorbing the heavy blows.

One swing hit too hard and Blake's off hand lightsaber fell from her grip. Now with two hands on her main lightsaber, she endured the continued storm of swings. Panting form exhaustion Blake watched Yang, the flashes of the lightsabers colliding highlighting her face. She grew tired as well, her strikes coming slower. _One may think too prove themselves through victory in combat, but the true victory is knowing when not too fight._ Blake remembered one of the teachings of the holocron. She remembered the sacrifice of the Jedi she faced on Dantooine, his death being the turning point for Blake. Blake dodged the next strike, throwing her hand out to push Yang back a few steps. Yang grimaced, but returned to circling Blake.

This was her test, her fight against her old self, against the darkside. Blake deactivated her lightsaber and threw it aside. Yang looked surprised, but appeared not to falter. Blake shut her eyes and knelt, trusting in the force she accepted her fate.

* * *

Weiss read over the report of the skirmish. She had lost several TIE fighters, most too the captured rebel pilots proton torpedoes. However, even with the losses the mission was a success, the rebels had been routed. Furthermore, she now had one captured, and would soon learn where the rest were hiding.

It was time for the interrogation, Weiss making her way down from the bridge to the lower levels where the holding cells where. Accompanied by two stormtroopers she approached the Rebel pilots cell. To her surprise there was already a pair of stormtroopers guarding the door. "Trooper who is inside the cell?"

"Lieutenant Winchester mam," the stormtrooper remaining motionless as he spoke. Weiss frowned, cursing to herself quietly. "dismissed," Weiss said with a wave of her hand, and the two stormtroopers left, replaced by her own. Weiss opened the cell, and looked in to see a beaten woman laying on the floor of the cell, Cardin standing domineeringly over her. "Lieutenant Winchester! On whose authority are you interrogating the prisoner?" Weiss commanding as she strode to stand in front of Cardin. Cardin looked surprised, and for a moment was stunned, "Uh, my own Captain," he said shakily. Weiss looked down at the prisoner, grimacing at the sight of her bruised face. "I am in control of this ship Mr Winchester, never forget that. I gave no order for her to be interrogated yet, in fact I planned on conducting it myself. You are hereby placed on probation, do not test me again." Weiss turned away from him, Cardin taking this as approval for him to leave.

Cardin turned back to watch Weiss help the rebel stand, moving her to a more comfortable sitting position. He glared with contempt, a plan slowly forming in his mind.

"I apologise for my subordinates behaviour, it was quite inappropriate. However you must understand, you are a traitor to the Empire, a miscreant and a murderer, these things tend to inspire rather negative reactions in others." Weiss waited for a response but got none, "Very well, if you do not wish to speak you don't have too. I will not beat you, torture you or any other barbaric act to pull information out of you." Weiss turned away for a moment, using her comms to call in the stormtroopers. The cell door slid open, and the soldiers stepped inside, accompanied by a floating spherical droid.

Weiss caught a glimmer of fear in the rebels eye, Weiss raising her lips into a sinister smile. "I see you know of the interrogation droid. I will give you two options, I will let the droid inject its serum, a powerful substance that may help you in remembering certain information. If you resist you will be taken to a slave facility in some far reaching part of the galaxy. If you willingly tell me what I need to know I will find you a clean cell on an imperial planet, if your information is particularly useful I may even find it in my heart to downgrade some of the charges against you." Weiss studied the rebel pilot, her face was hard to read under the bruising, but her eyes spoke volumes. They stared at the droid, at the long metal syringe that protruded out towards her.

"Fine, I'll talk," the pilot said is a hoarse voice. Weiss smiled, extending a hand towards her.

"A wise decision, I am Captain Weiss Schnee. Lets go to a more comfortable setting to talk." Ruby took her hand, eyeing the interrogation droid carefully as she was escorted out of the cell. Weiss led Ruby through the quiet hallways of the star destroyer, the two stormtroopers standing at Ruby's sides. They eventually came to a stop at what appeared to be a small private chamber. A large stainless steel table dominated the room, black chairs lining either side. Weiss motioned for Ruby to take a seat. Ruby fell into the chair, still watching Weiss with suspicion. Weiss sat opposite her, the stormtroopers standing against the wall behind Ruby. "So, lets begin then, where is your base located, the one from which you launched the attack?"

"Did you really think, I would betray my friends?" Ruby asked, voice filled with genuine surprise and a hint of amusement. Weiss frowned,

"I imagine I will be calling the droid back then, how disappointing," she waved at one of the stormtroopers who left to collect it. "Now I will give you one last chance to tell me under more agreeable circumstances," Weiss' tone was stern now, slowly losing patience. Ruby glared back, the two staring each other down. Suddenly Ruby sprung into action, kicking the table to slide her chair back into the stormtrooper behind her. Using her shackles she swung her hands at the stunned stormtrooper, the metal handcuffs impacting with his plastoid helmet. Weiss shot up, calling her extra security on her comm.

Ruby grasped the troopers blaster, managing to wrestle it from his control, blasting him in the chest at point blank. She spun to aim he blaster at Weiss, whose face was a picture of shock. "Put down the blaster, there is no way out of this the than your surrender. Be reasonable," Weiss freezing under the threat of the blaster. Ruby scowled, "I would rather die than betray the people important to me, the people fighting to stop you," her voice filled with contempt. Weiss cursed herself for not wearing a blaster of her own, she was a captain and had had no intention of entering firefights, but her intentions were irrelevant now.

"You're coming with me, you're my ticket off this thing," Ruby motioning with her blaster for Weiss to move. The door to the private chamber opened, Ruby quickly aiming her blaster in that direction and firing. The stormtrooper managed to let of a wild shot as he went down, just missing Ruby. "Lets move 'captain', I think I have had enough imperial hospitality for today."

* * *

Yang held the lightsaber over Blake's head, hovering just inches away. She gripped the lightsaber hard, hands clenching down on the hilt. Her jaw ached as her teeth remained locked together as she fought back her anger. Yang's breathing was heavy, panting hard after the exertion of the fight. "Pick up your weapon," Yang grumbled. Blake shook her head,

"I will not fight you, I did not come here to kill you."

"Then what are you here for, you're an imperial assassin, don't even try to deny it,"

"I won't, although the proper term is inquisitor, but assassin is apt." Blake stood slowly, her face hidden in the shadow of her hood. Yang still held her father's lightsaber in both hands extended towards Blake. "I'm here to warn you that more of my kind will be coming for you, the Empire is on your trail."

"So you came here to scare me huh, well it's not going to work!" Yang shuffled on her feet, anxious for more fighting.

"It should," Blake looking directly at Yang now, her amber eyes glowing in the light of the yellow saber. "If I intended to stay with the Empire, you would be dead right now. You have no control, no finesse. What's worse is you stray too willingly to the darkside, you are supposed to be a Jedi."

"I'm not a Jedi," Yang said forcefully, straightening herself and holding the lightsaber at her side, still ignited.

"Well the Empire thinks you are one, and even if you don't want it, you are force sensitive," Blake crossing her arms as she spoke. Yang squinted in confusion,

"Who are you? Why are you trying to help me, you work for the Empire,"

"I 'worked' for the Empire. I am in the process of leaving that behind." The two of them stood in silence for a few moments. Finally, Yang deactivated her lightsaber, sliding it back into her boot. "Whatever, I got your message, now leave me alone." Yang turned and walked to her ship, shutting the ramp behind her. Blake watched her go, a strange feeling of disappointment coming over her. She had come to help a Jedi, and had found a drunk mercenary.

Even though she was disappointed, she felt a moment of relief. Her task was done, she was free now to follow her own path. Blake walked away, not noticing the blonde figure in the cockpit of the freighter, watching her leave.

Yang studied her as she walked away, "didn't even tell me your name."

 **Next time on Star wars: Beacon of hope; Ruby's Escape!**

 **Thanks for reading, shout out to Dane-of-Celestia for creating the artwork that inspired this story.  
(P.S disclaimer: I don't own either properties, just love them dearly and like to write things on occasion) **


	2. Part 1

Ruby ran through the tight halls of the star destroyer, alarms ringing in her ears. In front of her Weiss looked desperately for a way out, repeatedly trying to get away from Ruby. Ruby however kept her blaster trained on Weiss at all times, she knew that her only way out was by taking the captain hostage.

"Where is my X-wing being held?" Ruby asked as her head scanned the hallways quickly, making sure to try and avoid the groups of stormtroopers running around in pursuit. "I won't help you escape," Weiss said indignantly, Ruby jabbed her with the barrel of the blaster.

"Well we will have to do this the old fashioned way then,"

"And what is that hmm? Running around aimlessly looking for your ship?" Weiss said sardonically, Ruby let out a single laugh, peering around the corner of the hallway, "That about sums it up."

Ruby pushed Weiss as fast as she could. Weiss craned her neck against the cold steel of the blaster pressed to her neck. Her eyes darted around the hallways, trying to find the perfect moment to escape. Suddenly she heard the familiar sound of combat boots stamping down the corridor. Weiss stopped abruptly, causing Ruby to have to push her forwards again. It gave the stormtroopers just enough time to round the corner. Ruby froze, pulling Weiss in front of her and pressing the blaster to the back of her head. "Back off or I shoot," Ruby said menacingly. The Stormtroopers raised their blasters,

"There they are, open fire!"

Ducking underneath a series of blaster shots Ruby broke away to her left, Weiss shouting out orders as she was pulled along. "Only fire if you can get a clear shot of the rebel!" Weiss bellowed as a bolt impacted dangerously close to her head, if Weiss didn't know any better she might have thought they were aiming for her.

Bits of shrapnel exploded from the wall nearest Ruby, the red bolts impacting and scorching the grey wall. She turned a fired back, not aiming at anything in particular, her fire just an attempt to hold back the rush of oncoming stormtroopers. Weiss saw an opportunity to escape as Ruby focused her fire on the Stormtroopers, but before she could break away Ruby spun and the blaster was back to being aimed at her. Ruby pushed them through a large set of blast doors, closing them behind her.

"Alright where now," Ruby said to herself as she analyse the crossroads she was at.

"As I said I will not help you," Weiss eyeing the blaster still trained at her. Ruby groaned,

"Oh shut it princess," Ruby pushed her ahead, picking her next path randomly. After a series of abrupt turns she noticed Weiss starting to frown. "So I am going the right way," Ruby smiling as she teased the Imperial captain.

"I don't know what you're talking about" Weiss raising her head in defiance, only to be pushed on again. Ruby pulled them aside, hiding behind a small outcropping in the wall. She heard the squad of stormtroopers run down the neighbouring hallway. Weiss looked as if she might cry out, only to have the blaster placed over her lips. After a second Ruby ran back out, pulling Weiss along with her.

Cautiously Ruby opened another large blast door, this time looking in to see a large hangar bay. In the middle of the bay sat her X-wing. Ruby grinned and cautiously stepped out into the hangar. Immediately the ground around her erupted in laser fire. Ducking back inside the hallway Ruby didn't have to grab Weiss as she ran out into the hangar. "It's me, Captain Schnee, hold your fire!" Weiss waving her arms in the air. She shrunk back down as several bolts impacted around her, barley missing her. "Surrender Captain Schnee, your treachery is at an end," Cardin stood above the hangar on an overlooking platform. Behind him stood a squad of stormtroopers blasters trained on Weiss. "Cardin I will not have you spreading lies on my ship! I don't know what treachery you are speaking of!" Weiss turned back to look at Ruby, the young pilot having disappeared.

"Enough captain, my men see through your lies. You are weak, unwilling to truly fight for the Empire. I should have known your mercy was an indication of betrayal, in not noticing this sooner I have failed, but now it is time to remedy that." Cardin raised his hand, the words forming on his lips.

Ruby fired on the crates of power cells stationed near Cardin's balcony. The chemicals in the power cells igniting, creating a large blinding explosion. Weiss fell to the floor, the shockwave of the blast knocking her over. The shaking causing several stormtroopers on the balcony to stumble, the flash of light stunning them momentarily. Ruby dashed across the hangar, more stormtroopers slowly emerging from the other entrances.

Ruby ran past Weiss, who was blinded by the explosion and still on the ground. Ruby looked back at the helpless captain, blaster fire now flying across the hangar. As a shot almost hit Weiss, Ruby groaned, stoping and dashing back to pick her up. Ruby fired back into the groups of stormtroopers as she climbed into the cockpit of the X-wing, having thrown Weiss in already.

Cardin shouted orders to the troopers, also turning to shout them into his comm. With blaster fire pelting her ship, Ruby started to take off. Her R2 unit taking several glancing hits as they ascended. On top of the frantic escape, Weiss sat next to her, uncomfortably taking up half the seat of the one man ship. Awkwardly Ruby flew out of the hangar, the turbo laser batteries either side of the exit slow to start firing, giving her enough time to set up rear deflectors and gain enough room to manoeuvre.

Weiss was slowly gaining her vision back, now looking out into the expanse of space. "W-what?" she asked in confusion. Ruby didn't say anything, too busy frantically prepping the ship for a hyperspace jump, made more awkward by her bound hands. "N-no, turn us around take me back!"

"Shut it princess, we are not welcome there, trust me." Swerving to avoid the fire from the star destroyer Ruby keyed in the command to jump, letting the R2 unit find the most suitable destination. Weiss opened her mouth to protest further, but was cut off as the stars streaked into a blue light, and the X-wing jumped into hyperspace.

* * *

Yang awoke suddenly from her dream, sweat beading down her forehead. The images she had seen flashed before her again. A girl with white hair, one with darker hair, fighting what appeared to be stormtroopers. Her… sister… her sister was in danger. But she was alive, the images of still in Yang's mind giving her a nostalgic feeling.

Yang got dressed as quickly as she could, just clasping on her belt as she stumbled out of her ship into the hot morning sun. She raced out of the spaceport and into the bustling crowds of Mos Eisley. She had to find him quick, he would know how to find her.

Moving madly about the city she made her way to the small hut on the east side. She strode up to the sand coloured building and banged on the door. "Hey it's me open up!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming give me just a moment," the voice said form behind the rust coloured door. The door slid open revealing a tall man in a soft green robe. "Ren we need to talk," Yang pushing past him to get inside, uninvited. Ren was busy wiping away oil from his hands as he was pushed aside, watching Yang with curiosity as she rushed inside. "What's wrong Yang? Is it about your sister, if so I'm still sorry about her loss," Ren said as he bowed his head. Yang was anxious, shifting her weight repeatedly and scanning the room constantly. "You need to call your Rebel buddies, my sister is still alive, she escaped the star destroyer," Yang finally looking Ren in the eyes. Ren looked baffled, before eventually coming to a realization, "Greif is a hard thing to deal with Yang, I have lost many friends over the years so I know what you're going through."

"Ren, she escaped, trust me, I just know." Yang locked eyes with Ren, who gave in.

"Fine, how can I help?"

"Call up your rebel buddies and send in the fleet or whatever, take out the star destroyer and make sure she's safe."

"Yang I can't call in the Alliance fleet, even if I could…" Ren said quietly, stroking his chin, "Ruby is a friend but the Alliance has to play it smart if it is to win this war." Yang sighed, rubbing her face with her hands. "There has to be some way we can find out where she is and help her,"

Ren smiled at this and shook his head in disbelief, "I think I actually might be able to help with that." Yang's head shot up, looking eagerly at Ren. He moved into the next room, Yang following behind him. The room was small, containing a workbench that took up most of the space, various tools and parts scattered over the desk. In the corner of the room however sat a droid. It was a design that Yang had never seen before, more flexible than a protocol droid, yet having the same, if not more, humanizing features. "It's a prototype Imperial assassin droid, fresh off the production line. The Alliance managed to capture it in a botched assassination. They sent it out here for me to inspect, see what I could learn from its data stores, maybe even reprogram it to fight for us" Ren said with pride.

"And?" Yang asked impatiently,

"I managed to get a complete data dump from its memory banks a few days ago, I just sent it off to the fleet. I made a copy though, was hoping to find out more about the droid itself." Ren turned to yang smiling, Yang just looked confused. Ren sighed, "I found Imperial codes in its memory, ones that can be used to tap into their communication lines," Ren raising an eyebrow, waiting for Yang to realise what he meant. Yang just stared back, and then suddenly gasped,

"We can check to see if they mentioned the escape, see if we can figure out where Ruby is." Ren nodded, calling up the relevant files on a data pad.

Yang studied the droid while he worked, curiously inspecting the oddly unthreatening killing machine. Yang prodded at its chassis, the metal was clearly thick, perhaps think enough to resist a blaster bolt or two. She nodded in appreciation of the droids likely high capacity for damage. She reached around its neck, finding the activation switch easily. Ren looked over just in time to see Yang turn the machine on. "No!" he cried as he leapt over trying to stop Yang, but it was too late. The droids eyes lit up and it starting speaking, "Salutations! I am P3-NY, personnel eradication unit, how may I be of service friend!" The droid spoke in an off putting cheerful tone with a female inflection, causing both Yang and Ren to stare at it awkwardly. The droid just gazed back, switching back and forth between looking at Yang and Ren.

Yang whispered to Ren, keeping her eyes on the machine, "Why isn't it killing us?"

"Well I said I was working on reprogramming it, I just started but it seems to have taken effect," Ren whispered back. Ren stood up straight, now addressing P3-NY properly, "You are not needed at this time, you may shut down for a while."

"As you wish," the droid said enthusiastically before the lights in its eyes shut down and it slumped. Yang stood up now as well,

"That is one interesting droid, if you ever need to sell it I know a guy,"

"Let me guess, some bounty hunter or Hutt?"

"Well, yeah, but he's not that bad," Yang said with a shrug. Ren shook his head returning to his data pad.

"Yang you should see this," Ren handed over the small pad. Yang scanned the broadcast transcript, quickly getting tired of the robotic Imperial messages. Suddenly, something sparked her attention. "Rebel pilot escaped… Traitorous captain… Outer Rim Tatoo system. That must be Ruby, and the Tatoo system is us, that means she's probably here!" Yang looked excitedly to Ren, who smiled back. Yang jumped up heading towards the door,

"Wait up Yang, I'm coming too!" Ren raced after her strapping on his duel holsters as he followed her out the small house.

* * *

The X-wing came out of hyperspace abruptly, the stars fading back into reality and a large yellowish planet coming into view. Ruby had managed to get the restraints off her hands using one of the toolkits located in the cockpit. While the jump was a short one, it had felt like an eternity. The entire time Ruby had jostled with Weiss for a better seat, the one person cockpit barely big enough to even house the two of them. She also had had to keep an eye on the stolen blaster, careful to not let the Imperial captain get her hands on it. Thankfully though Weiss was too distracted to contemplate escape.

She had been betrayed, mutiny had forced her off her ship. Cardin, the ungrateful fool had acted so quickly, and turned her ship against her. _Why was it so easy for him to do so?_ The question kept passing through her mind. "Where have you taken us?" Weiss asked impatiently, Ruby sighed with contempt, "This is Tatooine, it was the closest planet the R2 unit could figure out the jump co-ordinates for."

"It doesn't look like much,"

"It really isn't, Hutt controlled mostly, lots of sand and a lot of dangerous people." Ruby said passingly as she flew the ship towards the planet. Weiss studied the desert world intensely, "So this is where your rebel base is," Weiss turned to watch Ruby's reaction. Ruby let out a laugh, still focusing on the piloting,

"Yeah I am going to fly you, an Imperial captain, directly to my friends." Ruby said sarcastically, "the plan is I drop you off and leave,"

"Well how am I supposed to return to my ship? I have no credits or any way to contact it," Weiss stared at the rebel pilot with wide eyes, panic beginning to creep up on her. Ruby smirked, "I hear there are always jobs for cantina dancers," Weiss just gasped, taken aback by the rude implications of the snide remark. Ruby just shook her head, her smirk slowly turning to a frown as she examined the ships readouts. "Oh no, we have a problem,"

"What is it now? Are you going to tell me that I am not even pretty enough to be a dancer? That I should become a beggar?" Weiss scowled and crossed her arms, the move causing more discomfort in the small cockpit. Ruby looked at her in confusion, "Oh your pretty enough to be a dancer, but that depends on whether or not you are horribly disfigured by the upcoming crash landing!"

"What!" Weiss snapped her head to look down at the readout display, reading the critical reports on all the engines. "What did you do!" Weiss shouting accusingly at Ruby,

"Me! It was your stormtroopers that shot the ship up, I had nothing to do with it!" Ruby shouted back. The X-wing jostled as they entered the planets gravity well. The sandy surface of the planet quickly enveloped their entire view. Ruby's hands danced across control panels as she tried desperately to gain more control of the ship, "What can I do!" Weiss raising her voice over the sound of the ship's many groans,

"I dunno, try and redirect as much power into the repulsor system, it might just make the crash a little softer," Weiss nodded and started working.

The X-wing quickly broke through the atmosphere, flames scorching the exterior of the ship. In free fall the fighter hurtled towards the desert. Ruby did her best with the little control she had and managed to angle the fighter as to hopefully slide across the sand rather than impact directly on it. "Repulsors are as strong as I can make them I think!" Weiss cried out as she turned to watch the fast approaching ground. "Brace!" Ruby yelled as the ship slammed into the planet's surface.

A spray of sand shot out from the X-wing, as it slid over a large dune. With a final gut wrenching jolt the ship came to a stop, imbedded deep in the sand. Ruby blinked, dazed from the impact. She looked over to Weiss, who had hit her head on one of the ships dashboards, a single streak of blood falling down her brow. "Another happy landing," Ruby murmured.

* * *

Blake rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she sat up, the small room she had rented was still dark. Yet another nightmare, as always it was a mixture of memories of her homeworld, and memories of Adam. A new addition to her dreams however was the blonde Jedi. The fight had played through her head several times, she could still faintly feel the girls presence. Along with the memories came the undeniable feeling she had forgotten something, that the encounter had not gone the way it should have.

"I have to help her," Blake said to herself. With a resigned sigh, Blake got up and prepared to leave. She couldn't let the darkside consume the Jedi, not like it had consumed her. She had to help her hide, and if she could try to teach her something about controlling herself. The irony of Blake, the ex-Sith inquisitor, teaching a Jedi knight, was not lost on her. Yet at the same time it felt oddly right, she who had dealt so heavily with the darkside, with the anger and hatred, was the only one who could understand the young Jedi's struggle.

Hiding her lightsabers she set out to find the blonde Jedi.

* * *

Yang came to a screeching halt as she entered her hangar to find the inquisitor once again standing in her way. Ren stopped close behind her, picking up on the obvious tension his hands drifted to his blasters. "What are you doing here?" Yang asked with obvious attitude, her hand too coming to rest on her blaster. Blake sighed, "I'm here to help,"

"I might give you two some space, it appears you have some, history," Ren said as he stepped aside, still cautiously keeping his hands near his blasters.

"It's not like that, we just, oh whatever!" Yang shooing Ren away, who just raised a hand in defence. Yang turned back to Blake, "what do you mean by help?"

"I can't let you go down that dark path, and I need to help you stay hidden from other inquisitors." Blake moved closer, Yang inching back ever so slightly, causing Blake to stop. "I don't want anything to do with the Jedi, or the Sith, or whatever you are. I just want to find my sister." Blake perked up at the mention of a sister, another potential force sensitive who needed her help.

"Well then let me help you with that, it was my job to find people for the Empire, I'm sure I can help track down your sister, a-and I need transport off this planet, I could pay," Blake stepped forward again, enthusiastically stretching out her hand. Yang eyed it for a second, before nervously taking it. She then pulled Blake in abruptly, "If this is some trick and you are still working for the Empire, or if you try to hurt or manipulate Ruby, I will kill you," Yang said in a hushed tone.

"I told you, I don't work for them anymore, I just want to help." Blake replying confidently, Yang huffed and let her go, "People say a lot of things, doesn't make them true. Now get on board, my sister is out there somewhere and if she is anything like me, she is almost certainly in danger."

With that Yang strode onto her ship, looking back she smirked "Welcome aboard the Ember, trust me when I say your ten thousand credits were well spent."

"Ten thousand! We didn't agree on a price!" Blake's mouth agape just thinking about the huge sum. Yang however was already halfway to the cockpit. Ren walked up behind Blake and patted her on the shoulder, "Always negotiate price before shaking, but don't feel too bad, Yang's done this too quite a few people." With that Ren entered the ship leaving Blake to pinch her brow in frustration, before reluctantly getting aboard what she hoped was a luxury cruiser.

* * *

Ruby and Weiss trudged through the yellow sands of the Dune sea. The heat of the twin suns beating down on them. Ruby had unzipped the top half of her orange jump suit, her white singlet already damp with sweat. She carried the fighters survival kit on her back, the extra blaster pistol that she kept in the ship holstered at her side, and in her hands the Imperial blaster rifle. Weiss shuffled along behind her, her Imperial uniform jacket tied around her waist, her black singlet masking the various sweat stains. The ship had been un-saveable, the damaged cause by the impact had rendered it scrap metal. "Why did you choose this god forsaken planet," Weiss groaned

"I didn't choose it remember, I had to jump here, cause your stupid… Stormtroopers damaged my R2 unit, who does the astrogation." Ruby puffed out in between heavy breaths.

"Well if you hadn't…" Weiss slowing to think of the hundreds of things Ruby could have done, or not done, in order to prevent this. "Hadn't what? Joined the Rebellion? Tired to breakout?" Ruby looking back, a taunting smile spread on her tired face. She stopped smiling as she saw Weiss stumble, eyes drooping and mouth hanging ajar. "Come on, give me your best, I'm sure you have some creative things to say about us 'Rebel scum'" Ruby slowing further to stand just in front of Weiss. The Imperial captain stumbled again groaning as she did so, "Haven't we already done this? Already had this conversation?" She said with a hoarse voice before falling to her knees. Ruby dropped the backpack filled with the survival gear and dropped down in front of Weiss. "Hey, stay with me, we just need to find some shelter. Stay focused, talk to me!" Ruby shook the bleary eyed girl. "I think you're a-a bad person, evil, that your only bringing suffering to the galaxy, what do you have to say to that, huh?" Ruby continued to taunt her, trying to keep her focused.

Weiss slumped, exhaustion getting the better of her. "Just… leave me…" She murmured quietly.

"Not gonna happen princess, now get up, it's just a little further,"

"You… don't even… know where we are going" Weiss looking up at Ruby's face, blinking through the bright light.

"There are some rock formations just up ahead, we can rest there for tonight, it's just a little further."

"Why… I'm your… enemy," Weiss asked with a shaky voice.

"I have to prove I'm better than you guys. I don't just let people die," Ruby said with determination, as she began to drag Weiss towards the rock canyon up ahead. "I'm not… bad… I don't… want to hurt… I can… make better… for everyone," Weiss mumbled deliriously as she was dragged across the hot sand.

* * *

Weiss woke up to a dark sky, the glow of thousands of stars creating a vibrant ceiling. She rose slowly on one arm, eyes adjusting to the dim light. Two walls of red rock surrounded her; the ground itself appeared to be made of the same rock, with a light dusting of the sand she had spent the day trekking through. To her right sat what appeared to be a light, the cylindrical lamp glowing a soft orange and irradiating comforting warmth. Behind it stood Ruby, who was busily setting up some sort of antenna. Weiss sat up putting her jacket on as she did. "One minute this place is hotter than an overheating hyperdrive, the next it's as cold as space," Weiss muttered, breaking the silence. Ruby looked up from her work, "Finally awake, thought you might have bought it."

"It will take more than a walk through a desert to kill me," Weiss said unconvincingly. Ruby let out a laugh,

"Sure, sure." Weiss sighed in response reluctant to utter her next words,

"Thank you," she said meekly. Ruby looked up from her work looking questioningly at Weiss.

"Don't think I caught that," Ruby teased. Weiss crossed her arms and turned away,

"I said, thank you," Weiss stated more confidently.

"No problem, while I doubt you would have done the same for me, it's what I do,"

"Excuse me! I would have most certainly endeavoured to try and keep you alive, if it did not compromise my own safety of course." Weiss turned back to face Ruby, who was finished with what Weiss guessed to be a signal emitter. "I must say though, I am surprised a rebel would actually help me."

"I'm fighting for a free galaxy, I can't help make it that way by becoming as amoral as the Empire." Ruby spoke with a calm resonance, her eyes drifting off into memory. "Taking a person hostage though is perfectly fine?"Weiss chided

"I was fighting to survive, and how does hostage taking register on the Imperial morality table? Anywhere near genocide and slavery?" Ruby matching Weiss' sass.

"We're not all evil, we have done a lot of good for the galaxy." Weiss sounding like she had the line memorized, Ruby just looked at her sardonically, causing Weiss to scowl.

"Do you really believe that?" Ruby asked seriously, a look of concern on her face.

"I'm not stupid, I understand that there are many who misuse the Empire's resources. Speaking of genocide for instance, my own father, achieved the lofty title of Grand Moff for basically destroying an entire planet and its inhabitants. His bad decision though, does not make every Imperial a mass murderer." Ruby's expression grew dark upon hearing Weiss' words,

"Yet you became the captain of an Imperial star destroyer. You knew what your father had done was wrong, the things he did in the name of the Emperor, and yet you still joined the Imperials." Ruby's tone laced with venom. Weiss' scowl deepened, her hands clenching into fists.

"I didn't exactly have a choice. The Empire has done a lot of wrong, but it has unified most of the galaxy, if someone with some sense could take control then it could result in peace, security, no more war. If I can climb my way through the ranks I could make changes for the better," Weiss looked into Ruby's eyes, "Without the need for violence."

Ruby's dark expression lessened and she examined Weiss in a new light. She shook her head, expression becoming mellow. "You can't change the Empire from within."

"Why not! It's better than starting a galactic civil war!" Weiss' emotions getting the better of her, the exhaustion of the day lowering her defences. On the verge of tears she kept speaking, "Why! Tell me why!"

Ruby looked at her with pity, "Weiss, you want to know why?" Interpreting the other girls glare as an indication to continue, Ruby looked down at the lamp. "You are better than most Imp's, from what I saw on your ship you have a level of restraint most who work for the Empire don't. That's the problem."

"So I am a better commander than most of my counterparts, how is that an issue?" Weiss asked indignantly.

"Your men didn't fear you, I certainly didn't. You Imperials built a whole system dependant on fear. You fear your commander, that's rule number one. Suddenly you come along, you don't sacrifice people, you don't act like an Imperial commander, they don't respect you. Being different in the Empire is not something that ends well."

"Sounds like you have experience?" Weiss questioned with genuine curiosity. Ruby turned away, obviously not open to talk about it.

"In the Alliance, we trust each other, that's how we keep going. You can't build a better galaxy through fear."

The two sat in silence, the argument having taken the last energy either of them had left. "Let's get some rest. If we are lucky someone will pick up our signal by morning." Turning her back to the lamp, Ruby laid down to sleep. Her mind a jumble of thoughts, Weiss too eventually succumbed to the weariness that she felt throughout her body.

 **Authors note: Thanks for reading! Really enjoying writing some good old star wars, and I hope you are too. This chapter was a difficult one to write so feedback would be appreciated, I will stress though that I prefer reviews from actual accounts rather than guests. I much prefer an open dialogue with people so I can talk through the issues to better understand them. Also this site is pretty fantastic and you really should make an account, just trust me its a bunch of fun.**

 **Anyway, thanks for stopping by, have a good one. Next time: Sandpeople!**


	3. Part 2

The heat of Tatooine's twin suns rose over the walls of the canyon, sending streaks of light down onto the semi-conscious pair. Ruby was the first to awaken properly, stretching quickly before going to check the status of the signal emitter. Weiss rolled onto her side, her back incredibly sore and stiff from having spent the night on the hard rock of the canyon. "Ah bantha dung, the emitters busted!" Ruby kicked the antenna and sighed in dismay.

"Here we see the wonders of the fearsome Rebel Alliance's technology," Weiss stated sardonically as she stretched out her aching back.

"Yeah, yeah it's not like your life _also_ depends on this thing working," Ruby's tone laced with irritation.

"Do you know if anyone picked up the signal?" Weiss said as she moved over to inspect the broken machine. Ruby shrugged,

"No idea, looks like the thing busted sometime in the night, I doubt anyone picked up our signal."

"Fantastic," Weiss said coldly as she crossed her arms and looked expectantly at Ruby.

"What?" Ruby said as she raised an eyebrow in question.

"Well, you know more about this backwater planet then I do, what's our next move?" Ruby smiled slyly,

"Well I need to find something to eat, and well…" Ruby eyed Weiss. Weiss looked at her in confusion before getting her hint,

"You barbarian! You wouldn't dare, that's, that's, insane!" She shouted in panic as she took a few cautious steps back from Ruby. Ruby laughed,

"I'm joking! Trust me last thing I would want to eat would be blaster fried Imperial." Weiss stared at her flabbergasted,

"That is not funny! This is a survival situation, there is no time for jokes, especially when we need to find food," Weiss straightened herself as she spoke, resuming a more postured stance. Hands behind her back, looking thoughtfully into the distance, trying to devise a plan. She was abruptly interrupted by a projectile hitting her. Brought out of her trance she looked down at the ration bar that Ruby had thrown at her, frown firmly in place she looked back up to Ruby, who once again simply shrugged, her smile only widening at Weiss' expression. "Had some in the survival kit, should keep us going for a while."

Weiss grumbled as she started chomping down the ration bar. All in all she had eaten much worse, Imperial rations were not one would call a delicacy. Ruby slung the heavy pack over her shoulder and strapped on her blaster pistol holster. Picking up the stolen stormtrooper blaster she passed it over to Weiss, who took it cautiously. "Why are you giving me this?" Weiss questioned,

"Thought you might want to be able to defend yourself, no idea what could be out here with us." Ruby said as she turned her back on Weiss and started walking. For a moment Weiss thought of the easy shot it would be to eradicate the rebel. Shaking the thoughts away she began walking after Ruby. While yesterday Ruby Rose had started as her enemy, now she was likely the only reason that Weiss was alive today, and possibly the only thing that would keep her alive tomorrow.

* * *

"Scanners are picking something up," Ren studied the screen near the co-pilots chair intensely. Yang spun her chair to look over his shoulder,

"What is it?"

"Looks like a ship of some sort, though it's not in any working order. It might well be your sisters X-Wing." Ren nodded thoughtfully as he read the readouts of the scans. Yang smiled and turned the ship towards the wreck. "Wait shouldn't we be a little more careful about this, perhaps do a more complete area scan?"

"Nope, that's it, that's Ruby's X-Wing, trust me," Yang said with a confident smile. Ren shrugged and kept scanning.

* * *

Blake sat in her 'room', more of an abandoned cargo compartment fitted with a bed. This was definitely not a luxury cruiser. The hallways of the ship had several open panels filled with exposed wires, occasionally there was the odd connecting wire draping down from the roof. While it wasn't pretty, at least it didn't smell. Her Faunus senses would give her hell if the ship had a foul smell.

Sitting on the bed with legs crossed, Blake relaxed. She needed to figure out what to do, and she needed to figure out what to do with Yang, and possibly her sister. Blake needed to help them, whether it was to help them hide, or to learn how to properly control their abilities. Yang needed to learn how to control her anger, lest she fall and end up serving the Emperor like Blake had.

Suddenly she felt the ship touch down, the bed shifting suddenly as the landing gear sunk into the sand. Blake slunk up off the bed and moved towards the ramp. Yang came rushing down the opposite hallway, an excited look on her face. "Why have we stopped?"

"We found Ruby's X-Wing," Yang said enthusiastically as she opened the ramp with the controls near the door. Yang rushed down the ramp before it even finished lowering, Blake following down after Yang stepped off the ramp. Ren walked over to Blake, both watching Yang rush over to the half-submerged, scorched X-Wing. "This does not bode well," Blake murmured to Ren,

"Well Yang seems confident, she is rather adamant that Ruby is perfectly fine." Ren replied before walking out into the sun. Blake pulled her hood up and followed, stretching her sense to feel for any danger as she did so.

Yang climbed onto the hull of the ship, inspecting the remnants of the astromech droid. "Yup this looks like a proper crash landing," Yang's hand drifted over the blackened hull.

"Isn't the nature of crash landings 'improper'" Blake asked as she looked up to Yang, arm raised to block the suns.

"Ooh Kitty-cat has a sense of humour," Yang called back, before leaping down off the burnt up ship, Blake's feline ears twitching in self-consciousness. "Found tracks too, little faded but I think we might be close," Yang beamed with eagerness.

"How can you be sure she is still alive, the Empire will come looking for both of us it might be best if we-"

"No, we are finding my sister, she is alive." Yang's smile disappeared, replaced with a look of grim determination. The corners of Blake's lips twinged,

"Your certainty; I think you know where you're getting that from," Yang walked away eyes tracking the subtle markings in the sand.

"Sisterly intuition?" Yang answered offhandedly, Blake followed behind her slowly,

"You are force sensitive, a fairly powerful one at that, you can _feel_ that your sister is alive. If you relax for a moment and listen to me perhaps we can hone in that sense and more easily locate your sister."

"Why would I do that, I have two sets of perfectly traceable tracks," Yang turned her head back to Blake, waiting for the answer. Blake opened her mouth to reply, but had nothing to say, Yang smiled and turned back to her work. "The Force hasn't done me any favours, but my tracking skills have got me plenty of bounties."

"It would be a lot easier to use the Force, and you might learn something," Blake said quickly, her confidence building as she spoke. Yang didn't look back this time, "Just help me follow these tracks, if you can help me find Ruby then I will listen to whatever you have to say about all that stuff."

"I'll hold you to that," Blake said confidently, now stepping to walk beside Yang. Yang stopped eventually and turned back to the X-wing site, looking to Ren who was busy trying to get information off the remains of the ships computer. "Ren take _Ember_ and fly ahead, see if you can spot anything, Blake and I will follow the tracks!" Yang shouting over the distance, Ren nodded in return, sliding down the nose of the X-wing and heading back inside the _Ember_. Yang turned back to Blake with a smile, "Hope you don't mind the heat." Slapping Blake on the shoulder Yang continued her search.

* * *

"So you have no idea where we are going? We are literally wandering aimlessly through a desert." Weiss complained, huffing with exhaustion as she climbed up the lip of the small canyon wall. "Ugh, of course I have no idea where we are going! I have never been here before!" Ruby shouted back. "How about you carry the pack now, maybe if I had less strain on my back I might suddenly remember where the luxury spa is on this planet,"

"If it stops you complaining then fine!" Weiss bellowed as she wiped the sweat from her brow. Ruby dropped the bag, placing her hands on her hips as she watched Weiss awkwardly slung the heavy pack over her shoulder. "Look at that I suddenly know which direction to walk," Ruby said with a smile as she turned and continued walking down the same route in the canyons, "That's the same way we have been going for hours!" Weiss called out as she followed along begrudgingly.

The two fell silent, unhappily trudging along in the shaded canyons. Unbeknownst to them, along the tops of the canyons, several sets of shielded eyes watched intently.

Ruby felt like she was being watched. She scanned around her quickly, her hand gripping her blaster. "What?" Weiss asked as she caught up to Ruby.

"I dunno, just a feeling," Ruby replied in a hushed tone. Weiss raised her blaster rifle slightly, now joining in on Ruby's nervous scanning. Something shifted in the peripheral of Ruby's vision and she spun to focus on it, raising her pistol in the direction of the movement. From behind a series of rocks Ruby spied a robed figure aiming some sort of weapon at them. "Down!" Ruby shouted as she pulled Weiss to the ground with her. From all around them robed figures started appearing, weapons raised. Bestial cries echoed through the canyon as the figures attacked. Ruby fired up at the gun wielding figures, her bolts going wide and shattering the rocks above. "We need to find cover!" Weiss yelled as she quickly pulled Ruby up and behind cover. Back against the wall of the boulder the pair took turns turning to fire at the surrounding enemies. They ducked and dodged the series of slug rounds that the Sandpeople fired. "At least they don't have blasters," Weiss commented as she ducked back behind cover.

"I think they are Sandpeople, I heard about them from a friend who lives here, we just have to scare them off," Ruby finished and leapt back up and fired back at their assailants, dropping one with a well-aimed blaster shot. As her head went back below cover she spied several figures moving down on the floor of the canyon. "Uh, bad news,"

"What now?" Weiss asked with a sigh of resignation,

"You know anything about hand to hand combat?" Ruby winced as she finished, Weiss' expression not looking promising. Dropping the pack completely, Weiss held her blaster tightly with both hands and peaked above the cover, just as a shot impacted inches from her face. "You keep the marksmen busy I will deal with the ones coming at us," Weiss said with a calm, commanding tone of voice. Ruby nodded, a subtle smile on her lips,

"Aye aye _sir_." In unison the two broke cover, opening fire with their weapons. Ruby fired wildly above her, forcing the Sandpeople back behind cover, preventing them from firing any further shots. Weiss' blaster rifle fired a quick succession of shots, the kickback of the heavier rifle cause several bolts to miss, but the first few managed to drop several of the oncoming Sandpeople.

Ruby suddenly stopped firing, the trigger on her pistol jamming. Looking wide eyed at the malfunctioning weapon Ruby cursed. Weiss only noticed the issue as the Sandpeople's covering fire returned, thankfully the solid based projectile weapons proved far more inaccurate than a blaster. The two returned to the relative safety of their cover, "Why did you stop shooting!"

"It's not my fault! The gun jammed!"

"Great! Just great! Now we are going to be killed and eaten by a bunch of sun crazed savages! Just perfect!" Weiss shouted angrily as she haphazardly fired over the lip of their cover without looking. Ruby grabbed a stray rock, holstering her malfunctioning pistol. Panic in their eyes the two prepared for whatever came over their defences.

* * *

Ren flew the ship over the canyons that Yang and Blake had found. The scanners had detected the faint traces of some sort of beacon, Yang also having found tracks leading into the canyon meant that somewhere in the labyrinth of red stone they would find Ruby. Ren jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder, spinning and pulling free one of his twin pistols her came face to face with an unexpected sight. "Salutations friend Ren! May I ask what you are looking for?" P3-NY asked with genuine curiosity. Ren let go the breath he hadn't noticed he was holding, "How did you get on board?" Ren enquired, his usual monotone voice broken up with a small element of remaining surprise. "I set myself to re-activate after a small period of time to see if you needed any assistance, but I found that you had left. I simply tracked you down to your ship and before it left I climbed aboard."

"Well then," Ren said as he cautiously spun back to take control of the ship. Ren opened his mouth to continue but was halted by the sight before him. Blaster fire, Sandpeople, and what looked to be a pilot in half of an orange jumpsuit. "Uh P3-NY, are you a good shot?"

* * *

Yang dropped the Commlink back into her pocket and ran. Blake rushed after her, having heard what Ren had said. Ruby was in danger. Ahead of them the _Ember_ sat in the air, the ramp hanging open as a droid appeared to be firing down at something. Yang had her blaster carbine in hand, her mind focused on getting to her sister in time. Behind her Blake pulled forth both of her lightsabers, however they remained unignited. Together they came barrelling down the rock chasm, making a sharp turn to see a group of Sandpeople rushing away from the hovering freighter. While their faces were hidden, they sudden jolt and sliding halt revealed their surprise at seeing two more enemies.

Yang levelled her blaster and fired, the pair of red bolts scorching a hole through the leading Sandperson. Blake ran ahead of Yang, igniting her crimson blades and swinging them through the oncoming horde. A blur of black clothing and red light, Blake cut through the Sandpeople with ease, Yang taking out the few she left behind. As quickly as it had started, the battle was over, and eerie silence returned to the valley of red stone.

Yang's eyes immediately landed on the girl with short, red streaked hair. "Ruby!" She cried with joy as she holstered her gun and ran over to her sister. Ruby looked confused and surprised, only able to mutter out a quick "Thanks," before the blonde snatched her up in a tight hug.

Weiss watched in confusion as Ruby was lifted into the air by their surprise saviours. Her eyes meeting the glare of their other saviour, the hooded girl in black. Blake studied Ruby's companion, white hair, cold blue eyes, and an overwhelming sense that somehow she knew who this girl was.

"Uh… Can you let go please… I need to breathe," Ruby managed to grumble out over deep breaths. Yang let go and dropped Ruby back to her feet,

"I'm so glad you're okay I thought you had died." Yang spoke with happiness, fighting back tears of joy and relief.

"Ugh, thanks for the rescue?" Ruby was thoroughly confused. Yang was taken aback by her sister's lack of emotion, "Do… You don't remember me?" Yang said with a pained expression. Ruby studied her closely, mind racing as too who she was. Slowly she started to remember, "Y-yang? Yang!" Ruby said eyes wide with shock. Yang beamed and brought her sister in for another hug. Ruby was too shocked to return the hug, "You're alive! I thought you and dad…"

"Alive and kicking sis, I have been looking for you for a while now," Yang let her sister go, a soft smile on her face. "I made friends with Ren, one of your Rebel buddies, we managed to track you down. For a while we thought you were taken out by the Empire, reports of a failed attack or something."

"Haha, yeah something like that," Ruby said awkwardly, her eyes drifting over to a nervous Weiss. Noticing Weiss' focused stare Ruby followed her gaze, "Who's your friend?" Ruby asked, nodding in Blake's direction, Yang shrugged,

"Long story, but for the moment I think she is a friend, what about you?" Yang now looking to Weiss. Ruby smiled,

"Yeah long story, and yeah, I think she's a friend."

"A friend of my little sisters is a friend of mine. Oh we have so much to talk about!" Yang squealed with excitement as she led her sister back to the ship.

* * *

Blake watched as Ruby and Yang exchanged a lifetime of stories. They had spent the last few hours catching up, Yang letting Ren drive the ship back to Mos Eisley. It was heart-warming to watch the two reminisce about their short childhood together, and then tell their extravagant tales of their lives while separated. Yet, even when Blake should have been in a good mood, all she could feel was anger.

Not towards the sisters, not towards the surprising assassin droid that snuck onto the ship without her knowing. White hair, cold blue eyes. It hadn't taken Blake long to remember seeing those features, and feeling a similar presence. Admiral Schnee, now Grand Moff Schnee, was the leading officer who had led the attack on her home planet. Of course the girl that had crash landed with Ruby was not the Grand Moff, Blake was certain however that Weiss was his daughter.

Blake fought down the anger, trying to keep calm and remember the lessons she had learnt from the holocron. "Hey what's got you in such a mood," Yang said as she leant against the wall of the ship near Blake. Blake shook herself out of her thoughts, not having noticed the face she had been making, or that Ruby had left the room. "N-nothing, just… well we need to talk," Blake trying to bite back her anger.

"I did promise that we could have a talk about all the force mumbo jumbo," Yang said reluctantly.

"Not about that, there is something else I have to tell you ," Blake leaned in close, keeping her voice hushed. Yang looked intrigued,

"Sounds serious,"

"Yeah it is, Weiss is an Imperial." Blake looked seriously into Yang's eyes. Yang chuckled,

"Yeah Ruby told me, Imperial captain at that,"

"And you're fine with her being on the ship?!" Blake breaking her hushed tone. Yang shrugged,

"Ruby says that she's alright. Apparently there was a mutiny on her ship, Ruby saved her and then they had a nice walk in the sand."

"Yang, trust me, she is bad news," Blake's tone taking a dark turn. Yang frowned, placing her hands on her hips.

"I trust Ruby, my _sister_. Newsflash, I still don't know what to make of you. If I remember correctly weren't you working for the Empire only a few days ago?" Yang said matter-of-factly. Blake groaned with annoyance, "That's different,"

"Is it? Just don't worry about it, she's probably going to hop off at Mos Eisley anyway, then she is out of your hair."

"What about me? You're not kicking me off?" Blake said nervously, her frustration disappearing in an instant. Yang rolled her eyes,

"Why would I do that, you paid for a proper trip and that usually means somewhere off planet. So until you come up with a destination, and my money of course, you're a permanent resident." With another slap on the shoulder Yang headed off down the hallway, stopping after a few steps and turning back. "You comin or what? We still have to have that talk I promised you."

"Yeah, sure," Blake pushed her anxiety away and followed Yang.

* * *

Ruby walked into the room Weiss had been given to rest. Like most of the private rooms aboard Yang's ship it was a chaotic mess. Ruby knocked on the metal door before keying the controls to open it. "Weiss? I have a change of clothes for you, Yang had some spares lying around." Ruby's head swivelled around the room looking for Weiss. Stepping inside she could hear the sound of a shower coming from a door across the room. "Just leave them on the bed, I will be out in a second!" Weiss called out from the shower, the sound of running water stopping as she finished. Ruby rested the clothes on the sheet less mattress, a simple black jacket with a white shirt and dark green pants. Ruby was about to close the door behind her when she heard Weiss call out, "Wait a second! We need to talk," Ruby stopped, awkwardly deciding whether or not to leave the room and wait for Weiss to get dressed or not. As the door to the shower began to open Ruby quickly stepped out of the room and up against the wall of the corridor. "Where did you go?" Weiss asked as she stepped out of the shower, old towel wrapped around her body.

"Uh, I'm just out here, thought you might want some privacy."

"Oh, it's no issue. They kind of drill privacy and modesty out of you at the academy," Weiss mumbled as she looked through her new clothes.

"Oh, haha," Ruby laughed uncomfortably "do the, uh clothes fit?"

"A little big, but should be comfortable." Weiss lifting the clothes to examine, dusting off the dark leather jacket. "Fairly reasonable clothes for a prisoner, Imperial standards usually only include a simple identifiable jumpsuit."

"Prisoner?" Ruby sounding confused. Weiss slipped on the clothes quickly,

"Well yes, I imagine that I am now your prisoner in a more official capacity. I am an Imperial officer, you are a Rebel officer. The way things play out are pretty clear," Weiss sounding oddly content with the situation.

"Um, well you are not really an Imperial officer, and you're not my prisoner." Ruby still slightly confused. Weiss slipped on her second boot, stopping halfway as Ruby finished speaking. "What do you mean I'm not an officer?"

"I'm just saying that, well, since your crew led a mutiny against you…" Ruby cutting herself off, knowing she had said something she wasn't supposed too. Weiss strutted out of the room to face Ruby, wearing everything but her jacket, arms crossed and angry frown on her face. "That was a simple… Misunderstanding that I had with my second in command."

"Well, I mean, it wasn't just him… there were a few others," Ruby remembering the two of them rushing down the hallways of the star destroyer surrounded by stormtrooper fire. "W-well, there may have been a f-few…" Weiss trailing off as she ran out of excuses. Shutting her eyes she slumped against the wall of the corridor. Ruby winced, resting a hand on Weiss' shoulder. "Well things are going to get better now, the Rebel Alliance would welcome such a proficient commander, you probably have plenty of vital information too." Ruby suggested hopefully and smiling cheerfully. Weiss opened her eyes and stared into Ruby's, "I don't want to join the Rebel's, they have killed people I considered friends, they are terrorists!"

"We are not!" Ruby's hand snapped to her side off of Weiss' shoulder. Weiss stood straight now head raised in defiance. "Whatever! All that matters is that I don't have anywhere to go! So just lock me up or kick me out!" Ruby just stood there, unable to respond. After a few seconds of silence Ruby's angry demeanour broke, shoulders slumping in defeat. "Fine, you can leave. As I said, your not a prisoner here. No one is going to stop you form leaving." Ruby turned and walked away, leaving Weiss alone with her thoughts.

* * *

"So…" Yang breaking the silence as Blake sat nervously opposite her.

"Well," Blake took a deep breath, "I want to train you, I don't know much, but I know enough to help you deal with your power."

"Why are you so set on this, I was kinda hoping you got the picture that I'm not really into the whole Force thing."

"It's not about whether you want to or not. You have this power; nothing you can do will change that. If you don't learn to control it, you risk being consumed by it." Blake's eyes drifted away from Yang's, memories flashing before her. Yang didn't smile, she didn't frown, she simply stared. "When we fought, you lost control. I doubt you would ever admit it, but I felt your fear, and even though I have only known you for this short time, it's fairly easy to see you don't like not being in control."

"Yeah well sometimes you have to lose control," Blake met Yang's eyes again.

"If you keep going down this path, either the Empire will find you and kill you, or worse. With your gift you can't hide forever."

"I made it this far," Yang said quietly. Blake nodded slowly,

"You have, you're resourceful, quick on your feet, tough." Yang smirked at the praise, her cockiness forcing Yang to roll her eyes. "But you're also brash, quick to anger, reckless. You are the daughter of a Jedi, which paints a target on your back. You have to learn control otherwise you endanger everyone you care about." Blake watched the smile fade from Yang's face, her eyes slowly coming to an understanding. "Fine, teach me, on one condition."

"Yes?"

"You leave Ruby alone. She is not part of any training, she doesn't hear about any of this." Yang met Blake's stare, face taught with resolve.

"But, she is very likely-"

"No, just… no." Yang broke the glare, casting her eyes down. Blake sighed but nodded,

"Very well." The two sat in silence for a moment, both contemplating the commitment they had both just made. Before either could say anything to break the silence, the ship jolted. Yang breathed a sigh of relief and got up, "Ship's landed, grab whatever you have to. The Imperials are still looking for Ruby and Weiss so it's probably best if we made a hasty exit."

* * *

 **Author's note: Thanks for reading, really enjoying this project, hope you are too!**

 **Next time: Betrayl! Escape! And the Grand Moff!**


	4. Part 3

Weiss stepped off the ramp, the hard gravel crunching underneath her boots. The low hanging suns ushering in the cool breeze, a welcome change from the burning heat of the desert. On her back Weiss carried a small pack, her soiled uniform and blaster rifle tucked away inside. Nervous, alone and aimless, she stepped away from the freighter.

She could feel the stare burning into the back of her head. Weiss knew she couldn't turn back, the feelings of guilt were strange, unexpected, but if she turned back they would surely overwhelm her.

Walking out of the hangar Weiss reinforced in her mind the simple fact that she could never be what Ruby wanted her to be. She was an Imperial officer, and proud of it. Both of them wanted peace, but Weiss knew that it could never come from anything but the power of the Empire. The unity and order Imperial rule had brought could be used to create a truly peaceful galaxy. While the Empire's power had come from brutality, with time Weiss could turn that viciousness into benevolence.

Ruby simply represented the honorable side of the Rebellion, as Weiss liked to think she did for the Empire. Both sides had heroes and villains, terrorists and freedom fighters, leaders and tyrants. Yet only the Empire had the resources, the position, to truly change things. One person was not enough to change the galaxy.

Ruby watched Weiss leave, unsure of how to feel. Instead she felt it all at once, a maelstrom of emotions. Sadness, guilt, regret, anger. Weiss had gone from a hated adversary to someone Ruby hesitantly called friend. Of course Weiss would never see it that way, but Ruby saw the good in her. So she held out hope that one day Weiss would see the Empire as Ruby did, experience it as she had.

The Alliance had won many battles, but it had also lost an equal amount. There was a long way to go before they could restore freedom to the galaxy. To defeat the Empire they would need every person they could get. Even a single being could change the galaxy.

* * *

Yang and Blake strolled through the active streets of Mos Eisley. Just as in the daytime the spaceport was bustling with all manner of creatures, and all manner of lowlifes. Despite the obvious danger, the atmosphere was cheerful. Yet while outwardly pleasant, under the veil of drinking, flirting and laughing lay, fighting, dealing and murder. All things Yang's was accustomed to and experienced with.

Fighting the strong urges to stop and partake in the boisterous nightlife, Yang continued to push through the crowd. Carrying the few things that Blake owned the pair walked cautiously back to the ship. From the corner of her eye Blake spied a group of stormtroopers moving through the crowd. "Stormtroopers," Blake whispered to Yang. Yang spared them a glance before picking up the pace,

"Let's hope they are not here for Ruby, or us," Yang murmured as discreetly as possible. The Stormtroopers walked past the pair, Yang smiling and nodding awkwardly to the group, the white clad soldiers taking no notice of them. "Well that eliminates us," Blake said as she pushed on towards the hangars.

"Yeah, but let's get out of here as fast as possible anyway," Yang said as she matched Blake's pace.

Reaching the hangars the pair noticed groups of stormtroopers inspecting the various ships parked inside. Sticking to the shadows the two made it towards their ship, the troopers getting uncomfortably close to the ship. Jogging towards the _Ember_ they noticed a wary looking Ren standing guard. Yang nodded a greeting, "What's with the bucket heads?"

"Penny picked up an Imperial transmission, they sent a scouting team down to the planet looking for Ruby and Weiss."

"Penny?" Yang wondered aloud, Ren sighed and shrugged,

"P3-NY started requesting we call her a more humanoid name. Strangest droid I have ever encountered." Ren and Yang nodded thoughtfully, Blake breaking the silence,

"I believe you said something about getting out of here as fast as possible?" Blake's accusing tone forcing Yang and Ren out of their contemplation. Yang smirked and pushed the other two inside, "I believe I did."

* * *

Weiss wiped the sweat from her brow as she keyed in the final communications codes. There was only one thing that could so easily unsettle the calculating Imperial Captain. Her Father.

The holo projector flickered to life, the emotionless face of Grand Moff Schnee materializing before her. "Daughter, a pleasure it is to see you alive," his deep voice tingling with amusement.

"Hello Father," Weiss replied meekly.

"Last I heard you had turned Rebel, helping a prisoner escape no less." His infuriatingly mocking tone testing Weiss' composure.

"That is a lie Father I-"

"Was betrayed by Lieutenant Winchester, yes I imagined as much," his face forming the 'know-it-all' expression Weiss was well accustomed to seeing. "The boy has promise, but he is too eager, overconfident. Have no fear though, he will soon learn the error of his ways," Weiss winced as her Father smiled, the sickening expression filled with bloodlust. Weiss' mouth only opened a fraction before she was interrupted, "I have sent someone to deal with Mr Winchester. Your Star Destroyer I believe is in orbit of your location," Her Father paused, her stomach sinking as he eyed her with suspicion. "You will return to command, but sadly news of this incident has spread. You are the talk of the Imperial Navy, many truly believe you have betrayed the Empire. If this talk continues you will either end up discharged or worse. You need to give them something to sate their suspicion."

"L-like what?" Weiss knew the answer but still hoped she was wrong. Her father looked at her knowingly, seemingly seeing through her charade.

"You spent time with at least one Rebel, if you were to provide more information about them, perhaps where they are located, it could go a long way to clearing your name completely."

Weiss froze, her thoughts conflicted. As if under a spell, her mouth started moving, yet she dared not hear the words coming from her own lips. Once she finished, her Father's sickening smile returned and the hologram faded away. She had betrayed Ruby.

* * *

The _Ember_ shot out of Mos Eisley, disappearing into the dark night sky. In the cockpit Yang and Ren frantically prepared for battle. Yang reached over to trigger the ship wide comms, "Blake! Ruby! Get to the guns!"

Blake ran though the ships hallways, meeting a depressed Ruby halfway to the gunners well. "You alright?" Blake asked as she started climbing down the ladder, Ruby looked down and shook her head. "I'm fine, let's focus on getting out of here alive," Ruby's voice devoid of its usual cheerfulness. Blake slid down the ladder and into the gunner's chair, "good idea," she whispered to herself as she fixed the headset on and activated the guns targeting system.

Looking out of the gun's viewport Blake could now see stars, the ship having properly left Tatooine. "Ooh boy, there is one angry looking Star Destroyer bearing down on us," Yang said through Blake's headset. "I doubt these turrets will do much against that," Blake said cynically, hoping Yang didn't actually want them to attack the Star Destroyer. "Very funny," Yang said with little humour in her voice, " _Ember_ is a lot faster than any Star Destroyer, it's the damn fighters I want you two looking out for. Got that Ruby?"

Ruby shook herself back into the moment, removing any thoughts of Weiss as she spoke, "Yeah, shoot the fighters, got it."

"Here we go," Yang mumbled nervously as she spun the ship out of the Star Destroyers oncoming fire. Ruby and Blake moved with the ship, their guns now facing the metal behemoth behind them. Blake had never been on this side of a space battle, she was usually the one looking out at the fleeing target.

Ruby aimed her gun at the hangar bays of the Star Destroyer, this was far from her first encounter facing a Star Destroyer, she just hoped it went better than last time.

"Here they come," Ren said from Yang's side as he operated the ships scanners. Yang rolled her shoulders, and gripped the controls hard. "Incoming TIE Fighters, we need another ten minutes before we can make the jump to hyperspace," Ren called into the comms.

Blake and Ruby could just make out the enemy ships, the TIE Fighters coming at them blindingly fast. Within moments the fighters were upon them, both Ruby and Blake opening fire at the TIE Fighters as they came in range. Green and red bolts flew past each other, the _Ember_ shaking as the defectors absorbed several hits. The fighters broke away to avoid Blake and Ruby's fire, splitting into two groups either side of the _Ember._

Yang caught sight of several fighters passing her, and with a grimace she pulled the ship after them. Now chasing a group of TIE Fighters Ruby opened fire at the exposed targets. Her shots burst through one of the fighter's cockpits, the ship exploding before them. Blake fired now too, but the remaining fighters had already begun evasive maneuvers. Unable to hit them Blake spun her gun towards the other group of fighters now approaching the ship's right side. Blake fired in an arc, her shots colliding with two fighters, the mass produced ships crumbling under the laser fire. "I got two!" Blake cried triumphantly.

Ruby picker her shots carefully, used to dogfighting in a fighter of her own she easily shot down the remaining fighters in front of the _Ember_. "I'm up to three!" Ruby looking down to Blake with a smile on her face. Blake looked up with a confused glare, "It's not a competition," she said dryly

"Nothing wrong with a little friendly competition, whoever gets the most gets to use the showers first," Yang spoke through gritted teeth as she desperately avoided fire from both the Star Destroyer and the TIE Fighters. "Why does going first matter?" Blake asked as she returned to shooting.

"Well, thing is, the heating system is busted so a hot shower only lasts for a minute or so," Yang forcing out an anxious laugh as she finished.

Blake and Ruby shared a nervous glance, before both retuned to shooting with a new found vigor. Yang, now with all her enemies behind her, started spinning the ship to avoid their fire. Ren franticly diverted power to both the hyperdrive and rear deflector shields. "We are nearly ready to jump, just another minute or so," Ren said as his hand drifted to the hyperdrive controls, ready to jump as soon as they could.

Ruby continued to have an easier time shooting, she was truly in her element. The spinning had little effect on her, and she easily destroyed another three fighters. Blake had resorted to a more wild fire technique, thrown off by the spinning and the fast moving fighters she decided that her best option was to shoot as much as possible. As haphazard as the technique was, she did score another two Tie's.

A light flickered on the ships dashboard, Yang taking her eyes off the viewport to look down. With a cocky smile she looked to Ren, "Punch it!" Without needing to be told twice, Ren slammed the lever down, the stars streaking into blue light as the freighter left Tatooine.

* * *

Surrounded by a team of Stormtroopers Weiss stepped back onboard her Star Destroyer. The officers stood in rank and file either side of her. Yet immediately she noticed that these were not the people that had served under her. New faces, unfamiliar faces. "Who are you?" Weiss asked no one in particular. A young officer stepped up,

"Uh, Your previous command team was deemed unfit for duty, they were removed from command." The young officer's voice was shaky and hesitant. Weiss looked into his eyes, naturally his not daring to meet hers. She saw fear.

It clicked almost immediately. She didn't know why she had suspected anything different from her Father. Weiss turned away from the young officer, hands quivering she quickly hid them in her jacket. It was hard to feel sorry for Cardin, he was the epitome of what everyone saw as the quintessentially ruthless Imperial officer. The rest of them though, they were innocent, they had served dutifully under Weiss, she had dared called several of them friends. "Dismissed," Weiss whispered, her voice catching in her throat. No one moved. "Dismissed!" Weiss shouted, eyeing the scurrying officers as they left.

Weiss dropped her bag, discarding it without a care. She straightened herself, her hands clasping behind her back. With a confident strut she made her way to her quarters. Eye's followed her as she moved through the ship, her team of Stormtroopers behind her.

Her quarters were untouched. Cardin had obviously not had enough time to move in before her Fathers assassin had dealt with him. "Trooper, my Father sent an agent, bring him here immediately." She didn't look back, instead taking the sound of his boots moving as confirmation of her order. Weiss quickly go to work discarding the borrowed clothes and donning her Imperial uniform

The uniform didn't feel right, the fit seemed all wrong. Weiss knew she had worn it several hundred times, yet this time unlike the others, it felt different. A knock sounded at the door and Weiss spun, patting down the uniform to make sure it looked neat. "Enter," Weiss said with head raised. The door slid open with a hiss and in stepped a strange figure. Clad in black, eyes covered by a red visor, horns poking out just above his hair. "Inquisitor Adam Taurus, you must be Schnee's daughter." The inquisitor stepped inside, visor slowly scanning the room, hand tracing over the spotless desk.

"Yes," Weiss said cautiously, "I am the daughter of Grand Moff Schnee," she said putting emphasis on his title. Taurus smirked,

"Your Father called in a pretty big favour, I don't just work for any Moff that comes along and needs his daughter's bullying problem dealt with. Though you won't have to worry about that anymore, your issue has indeed been dealt with."

"You killed my command team," Weiss stated without fear. Adam moved close, looking down on the Imperial captain.

"I wiped them out, got rid of your _problem_ , sent a clear message to your new officers too," Adam nearly whispering in Weiss' ear.

"Well then, you are no longer needed, I will make preparations for a shuttle to take you back to wherever it is you came from." Weiss looked into his visor now, fighting back the creeping tendrils of fear that crawled up her spine. "No need Captain, I plan on staying for a while. You see, I helped you and now you have to help me,"

"With what?" Weiss asked curiously. Adam stepped back, turning away from Weiss,

"The freighter your ship failed to capture. I can lead you to it, all you have to do is apprehend the occupants and deliver them to me." Adam's blasé tone changed, a dark seriousness creeping into his voice. Weiss breathed a sigh of relief, Ruby had escaped, it was the first she had heard of the incident. "Well I doubt we were able to track their hyperspace jump, I'm afraid for the time being they have escaped."

Adam chuckled, "Your technology will only get you so far, I can find them."

"May I ask how you are tracking them?"

"No, you may not. You will just have to trust me." Adam stared her down, his face emitting a relaxed confidence, like a predator about to strike easy prey. Weiss pursed her lips, brow furrowing in anger. She felt sick, like she had talking to her Father, it all felt wrong. "F-fine, tell me where the ship is and we will hunt them down." The words turning bitter in her mouth as she said them. Adam nodded, sporting a sickening smile to match her Father's. Without another word he left, leaving Weiss alone with her guilt.

* * *

 _'_ _Blake'_ The word echoed in her mind. Her eyes snapped open and Blake sat upright. Her eyes darted around the room, reaffirming her surroundings, making sure she was still aboard the _Ember._

The dreams never stopped. The flashes of her training, the memories of her planet. Always Adam's voice calling to her. This time had been particularly bad, it had felt like Adam had been in the room.

She needed to clear her head. Wrapping the thin blanket around her like a cloak she left her room to wander the ship. Everyone had gone off to rest and relax by themselves, the last few days having taken its toll on everyone.

Ren's room was the first she passed. Blake peaked inside quickly, the door not fully closing on his room. Inside Ren worked tirelessly on Penny, seemingly calm, at peace while he worked. Little seemed to truly affect the stoic rebel, he simply worked, never complaining.

Taking a few more steps down the corridor Blake passed Ruby's door. Ruby had shut herself inside hours ago, and Blake didn't need to touch the Force to feel her sadness. Weiss' departure had hit her hard, harder than any of them had expected. Everyone else however now held suspicions that the sudden Imperial interest they garnered on Tatooine was likely Weiss' doing. Ruby simply refused to believe in the betrayal.

Blake of course was more than certain. Weiss was a Schnee, and they were friends to no one but themselves. She would have sold them out for a hot meal if she could.

Finally, near the cockpit, was Yang's room. Sparing a glance inside, the door unashamedly left open, Blake saw the bounty hunter sprawled out over the bed. Blake smiled, there was no deception with Yang, in all aspects what you saw was what you got.

Letting Yang sleep Blake moved over to the cockpit. Inside she took a seat in one of the well-worn chairs, the seat creaking loudly beneath her. The streaming blue light of hyperspace dominated the view, the soft glow seeping throughout the room. Wrapping the blanket tightly around her Blake meditated. Steadying her breathing she calmed herself, pushing away the lingering thoughts of her dream. Instead of focusing on the past, she looked ahead. Blake was still uncertain of how to proceed, of what to do. After having lived a life so focused, so controlled, the freedom she now had terrified her.

"What's wrong?" A voice called, bringing Blake back to the ship. She spun the chair to see yang in a loose fitting shirt and shorts, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

"Nothing… Just thinking," Blake said as she turned the chair back to face the viewport. Yang fell into the chair beside her, idly checking the ships status.

"What about?" Yang asked as she turned to face Blake.

"The future, mostly," Blake said with an exasperated sigh.

"Don't bother," Yang said nonchalantly, "Dad always said to stay focused on the present. Keep your mind on what you are doing."

"I have no idea what I'm doing," Blake said in defeat.

"As I remember it you were supposed to be teaching me to control my powers. So, go ahead, teach me." Yang crossed her legs and waited eagerly. Blake glanced to her left, smiling again at the enthusiastic Yang. Spinning to face her, Blake crossed her own legs. "Fine then, let's begin. Close your eyes," Blake said as she closed her own. Tentatively Yang followed suit. "Focus on your breathing, picture yourself, calm, at peace."

For a while the two sat in silence, concentrating completely on the simple exercise. Blake ran through the teachings in her mind, hastily remembering the Holorcon's lessons. "Now picture the room, remember its every detail. Do you see it?"

"Yeah, I think so," Yang said uncertainly.

"Good, now picture the ship. See it as though you are walking through it."

Yang sat silently for a moment, Blake eventually taking this as a sign to move on. "What do you feel?" Blake asked hopefully. Yang sighed, brow furrowing in concentration. "Sadness, I feel… Sad," Yang stated with surprise.

"Who's sadness?" Blake asked eagerly, the visage of the wise teacher faltering as she grew excited at Yang's progress.

"R-ruby, I can feel her," Yang sounding slightly confused and still surprised.

"Keep going," Blake prompted.

"I feel, calm, focused. Ren, I can _see_ him, working on Penny," Yang now sounding somewhat excited.

"Excellent, now come back to the cockpit." Blake opened her eyes to watch Yang, whose brow was still wrinkled with concentration. As if being touched by a cold breeze, Blake felt Yang reach out to her. "No!" Blake gasped, arms shooting out to grasp the still focused Yang. Suddenly, Yang let out a pained cry, falling back just out of Blake's reach.

Images flashed through Yang's mind. She saw Blake, eyes aflame with passion, anger. She saw death, countless people falling to Blake's red sabers. Yang saw others, dark figures lurking like shadows around her. Above all she saw another Faunus, a taller male, with a glowing red visor. Yang could feel it all, the hate, the pain but mostly the despair.

"Yang!" Blake shouted as she steadied Yang. Yang's eyes opened, her vision blurred slightly by tears.

"What happened?" Blake asked anxiously.

"I saw you," Yang whispered, almost with disgust. Blake's eyes widened and she turned away, embarrassed and guilty. Yang got to her feet, examining Blake in a new light. "What did I see?" Yang's voice filled with an uncharacteristic seriousness.

"The past, you saw the past. My past."

"You really did that… all those things? Killed all those people?"

"Y-yes," Blake's voice wavering with shame. Yang was shocked, unable to do anything but stare.

"And all the things they did to you?" Yang's voice dripping with pity. Blake looked back, the pain of her many scars coming back to her. All Blake could do was nod.

"Is that… What I was like, when we fought?" Yang's eyes sparkling with more tears as she asked the painful question. Blake winced,

"The darkside, it consumes you. You simply stop being yourself, and you become a monster," Blake said solemnly.

Neither one could look the other in the eye, both caught up in the pain of the past. Yang wiped her eyes, blinking away the last remnants of the visions. "I'm going back to bed, that's enough for now I think," Yang said as she hurried back to her room.

Blake sat down, alone in the cockpit once again. She sunk into the chair, unsure if she had lost a student, or found someone who could understand.

* * *

Hours later the _Ember_ left hyperspace, shooting out into empty space. Everyone gathered in the cockpit to discuss their next move. "Well here we are, middle of nowhere. What's are next stop?" yang looking to Ruby and Ren for an answer. Ren stroked his chin,

"I need to deliver Penny to the fleet. She has hundreds of Imperial codes in her memory banks, that could prove very useful."

"I need to get back to my squadron, they probably still think I'm a prisoner." Ruby chimed in, having appeared to have broken out of her small spout of melancholy. Ren nodded agreement, "I have the co-ordinates for the fleet under Admiral Ozpin's command, your squadron should be stationed with him."

"Well then looks like we have our next destination," yang said cheerily as she handed the controls off to Ren. Blake looked to Yang, an awkward tension still hanging between them. "Are you sure we should go to the Rebel's?" Blake asked nervously,

"Why not? Rubes and Ren are big shots over in their camp. Us being on the run from the Empire, the safest place is probably with the Rebels anyway." Yang dismissing Blake's concern. Blake sighed, surrendering to Yang's logic. "I just feel, I dunno, like we are being followed,"

"I did thorough scans of the ship, I don't believe Wei-" Ren was cut off by a harsh stare from Yang, "that anyone placed any tracking devices on the ship. On top of that our jump was untraceable, I made sure of it."

"See? Nothing to worry about," Yang said confidently. Blake looked to Ruby for support, Ruby just shrugging in response. No matter what she did, Blake couldn't shake the odd sensation that she was being watched, that someone was following her.

* * *

 **Authors note: Sorry for the wait, the site was bugged out for a day or so meaning I had to wait to upload. If this chapter is slightly sloppy its because my editor didn't have time to go through it properly. If you find its not sloppy then I did a proper job of editing myself (yay for learning!). Anyway thanks for reading!  
**

 **Next time: Reunions! Loyalty! and preparation for battle!**


	5. Part 4

The Star destroyer, _Blizzard,_ shot out of hyperspace, finding itself in empty space. Weiss waited nervously on the bridge, hoping that the scans would come up negative. "Captain, there are no traces of the freighter," one of the technicians spoke up from control pit to Weiss' left. She nodded confirmation and turned to the Inquisitor sitting in her command chair at the other end of the bridge. "I'm afraid your methods were ineffective Inquisitor Taurus, they are not here," Weiss stated triumphantly. Adam stood, stepping loudly towards her, "But they were here, we were too slow," Adam said bitterly. Standing beside her, Adam looked out into the stars, "Prepare for another jump, I will find them," Adam said firmly.

"Inquisitor we cannot simply waste time hunting a single freighter, it is a waste of resources," Weiss suggested hopefully.

"What we are hunting is worth more to me, and the Emperor, than a hundred Star Destroyers. They haven't gone far, I can feel it. Send out the probes. Find them Captain, or else."

* * *

The _Ember_ exited hyperspace, greeted by an escort of X-Wing's. Stretched out in front of them sat a Rebel fleet, a wild assortment of capital ships and squadrons of fighters lying dormant in deep space. "Identify yourself," a voice called over the ships comms. Before Yang could respond Ruby jumped forward and grabbed the comm controls,

"Only your inspiring leader," Ruby laughed into the microphone.

"Ruby!" Sun shouted back in surprise

"Ruby your alive!" Neptune joining in the chorus of happily surprised pilots.

"I'm here as well," Ren smiling as he heard the cheers coming through the comms.

"Ren!" Nora squealed, her Y-Wing soaring overhead. Yang and Blake shared a smile as well, unable to deny themselves the feelings of joy emanating from their friends. "Commander Rose, welcome back," a calm voice sending a signal from the leading cruiser.

"General Ozpin, it's a pleasure to be back."

The _Ember_ docked with the MC40a light cruiser, General Ozpin's Mon Calamari designed flagship known simply as _The Beacon_. Stepping through the airlock Ruby was greeted by the pleasant sight of several, orange clad pilots. Sun and Neptune rushed forward to embrace Ruby, Nora running past the three of them to leap onto Ren. "We thought you had bought it for sure," Sun exclaimed, "They promoted Arc to squadron leader, let's just say I am really happy to have you back."

"Hey!" Jaune cried out from behind them, causing the group to laugh. Ruby stepped past Sun and Neptune to the other pilots. Jaune and Pyrrha stepping forward to greet Ruby. "We knew you would make it back," Pyrrha said with a wide smile.

"Thank the stars you did, dealing with those two has been a nightmare," Jaune said gesturing to Neptune and Sun.

"Well I'm back, and I'm not leaving you two behind on any missions for now on, please tell me they have enough fighters for all of us this time," Ruby asked nervously. Often times there were more pilots than fighters in the Rebellion, and that meant leaving behind team members. "The general managed to scrounge together a bunch of new fighters. Even got a special one just for you," Jaune patting Ruby on the back as he spoke.

"Oooh, exciting," Ruby squeaked, her love for ships triggered by the thought of a new high tech fighter.

"Who are the new guys," Sun asked as he studied Yang, Blake and Penny.

"Well this is Yang, my sister. That's Blake, Yang's friend, and this is-"

"Hi! I am P3-NY, you can call me Penny!" the droid said cheerfully, "Personnel eradication specialist, can I be of service?" Sun simply stared at the droid,

"Personnel eradication?" He said quizzically. Ren nodded,

"Prototype Imperial assassination droid, that's actually why I'm here." Ren said as he broke away from Nora's hug to lead Penny to General Ozpin,

"Not for your old pal Nora?" Nora asked with a pout, "And to see Nora of course," Ren added with a laugh.

"Well, that's all the introductions out of the way, let's go see the general," Ruby said with a proud look in her eye.

* * *

Weiss had retired to her quarters. The lack of palpable tension in the air was a relief. The standoff between her and Adam, coupled with the fearful glances of her subordinates, made anytime on the bridge stressful. It couldn't be possible that Adam was able to track Ruby without any use of technology. Yet Adam's certainty was disturbing, despite Weiss' logical reasoning, she feared that somehow, he might actually be onto her trail.

Could Weiss sabotage the attempts to find Ruby? Should she? Ruby was a good pilot from what Weiss had seen, and her heart was most certainly in the right place, even if her allegiances were not. In the long run, having Ruby alive and part of the Rebellion might very well be useful in the future. Eventually the two sides would come to negotiations, and Weiss would make sure she was there to shape the result to bring proper peace. With Ruby alive, Weiss could help bring the two sides together. Ruby's life could very well be worth galactic peace.

A buzz broke Weiss out of her musings, the comm system built into her room's desk awaiting attention. "Yes?" Weiss enquired as she activated the comms.

"Captain, we have a report back from a probe droid. Should I contact the Inquisitor?"

Weiss sat forward quickly, "No, not yet, send me the report and keep the information to yourself for the time being," Weiss ordered quickly.

"Uh, yes Captain, right away."

* * *

Yang watched Ruby and Ozpin exchange pleasantries. The Whole squadron had come to watch Ruby get re-instated, and see Ruby's face when she saw her knew ship. General Ozpin ran a surprisingly tight ship. Yang hadn't had much contact or experience with the Rebel Alliance, but form what she had seen it was very much a rag tag group of freedom fighters. Not here though, the _Beacon_ was as smoothly operated as an Imperial Star Destroyer. Maybe that's why Yang didn't feel so at ease. Blake stood next to her, an expression of discomfort mirroring Yang's. Yang motioned to leave, Blake nodding in agreement.

Moving out off the bridge the two found themselves in a secluded hallway. "So, what's your next move?" Yang asked causally,

"Well I will definitely need a ride out of here,"

"Yeah? Thought you would be all for fighting the Empire," Yang asked curiously.

"I do. I want to redeem myself for all the things I did," memories causing them both to wince, "But I spent years hunting these people down, executing them. It feels wrong being here, I don't think I'm ready."

"I know what you mean," Yang agreed quietly. Blake raised an eyebrow, Yang shrugged "I want to stay a while, be with Ruby, but this isn't my scene. I mean I am no fan of the Empire, but I'm not a soldier. I don't do orders and regulations."

"Really? You don't like order and regulation?" Blake joked. Yang rolled her eyes and smirked,

"Yeah it's a surprise isn't it." For a few moments the two stood in the empty corridor in silence. "Look, about what happened, I'm sorry if I was a little, cold," Yang mumbling uneasily. "I know it wasn't your fault, you lost control like I did, and you were forced into it. If anything, I'm sorry about what happened,"

"Thanks Yang," Blake said as she placed an arm reassuringly on Yang's. "It means a lot."

Next to them the door to the bridge slid open. They turned as Ruby led her team out of the bridge. "Hey guy's we are checking out Ruby's new ship you in?" Sun asked with a wink directed at Blake. Blake rolled her eyes, tilting her head to look at Yang, "Sounds like fun," Yang said as she joined the group.

The small hangar bay was packed with fighters, mechanics and astromech droids busy at work keeping the star fighters in working order. At the very end sat a small wedge shaped, red coloured vessel. "We just got it shipped in, A-Wing class interceptor, fastest fighter out there," Neptune said in appreciation of the vessel. Ruby stood still, eyes wide with excitement, as she examined her new fighter. "It's beautiful," Ruby said in reverence, causing the group to burst into laughter.

"Yeah let's just hope you don't have to go and test it out against the Imperials anytime soon," Yang said slightly concerned at how fragile the ship looked. Picking up on Yang's concern Ruby lay a hand reassuringly on her sisters shoulder, "I'll be fine, if what Neptune says is true, they aren't going to be able to even hit me."

"Sure hope so," Yang said looking down at her sister. "Hey can we talk?"

"Sure, what's wrong?" Ruby asked. Yang sighed,

"Later, in private."

"Oh," Ruby said with surprise, "Sure."

* * *

"Here is the report Captain," the officer said as he handed over the datapad. Weiss grabbed the device quickly, scanning the written report and loading the video feed. The picture was pixelated, but it was clear that the probe had found at the very least a fleet of ships, it was unclear whether they were Rebel or not. That was, until Weiss spied a familiar ship docking with the leading cruiser, Ruby and Yang were there, and that meant Rebels. "Should I set a course ma'am?"

Weiss froze again, staring at the screen, mind racing with possibilities. "You are the only one who received this report?" Weiss enquired tentatively,

"Yes ma'am, I was the only officer on duty," the officer said with a confused looked. Weiss stood, eyes still locked to the screen as she moved over to the other side of the room. "What is your name officer?" She asked, stalling.

"Lieutenant Jenkins ma'am," the officer said proudly. Weiss reached the bag that carried her borrowed clothes, and the stolen blaster rifle. Leaning down carefully she reached inside and grasped the somewhat dirty grip of the blaster. "I must apologize for this, however I must do this, for the good of the galaxy."

"Ma'am?"

Weiss dropped the data pad, pulling the blaster rifle free and aiming at Lieutenant Jenkins. Mouth agape and eyes wide Jenkins froze, Weiss taking the time to change to the stun setting. The ring of blue energy shocking the surprised officer into unconsciousness.

Activating her private terminal Weiss began her message. Using the probe droid to bounce the signal, Weiss believed herself to be able to send an encrypted message directly to the _Ember_. She knew the message would probably alert the Rebel fleet, Weiss just needed to find the fleet leaving in time to do some damage and appear to simply been too late to secure a total victory. Her credibility would return somewhat and she could continue her command, and one day hopefully bring the two forces together with Ruby's help. Ruby needed to survive, Weiss needed an agent within the Rebellion that she could eventually negotiate reasonably with.

The message was simple, and hopefully would find its way to Ruby. Without hesitation Weiss sent the communication.

* * *

Adam smiled, it appeared that his, and Grand Moff Schnee's feelings had been correct. The hidden camera in the Captains room revealed her treachery. It also revealed the location of his target. "Stormtrooper," Adam called out, a white figure emerging from his hidden guard position. "Go and arrest the good Captain, it appears she has truly turned coat."

"Yes sir."

* * *

Weiss moved the unconscious officer to her bed, hoping the stun bolt had obscured his memory of the shooting. Now she waited for him to awaken, and waited to alert her ship of the Rebel fleet. The feeling of uncertainty was becoming too familiar for Weiss of late. Her doubt, her fears would almost certainly cause her to falter, to make mistakes. Even knowing that she could not quell the raging maelstrom of nerves that tossed and turned inside her. Risking her career for Ruby was either her best, or worst, decision.

"Captain, Inquisitor Taurus requests your presence," a muffled voice called through her door. Weiss jumped, her nerves making her paranoid. "Uh, I am currently disposed I will see him within the hour," Weiss called back.

"I'm sorry ma'am but he request your presence immediately," the stormtrooper now speaking with authority. Weiss frowned, "That is hardly a respectable way to talk to your superior trooper, now leave, that is an order." Silence followed Weiss command, giving her a small hint of satisfaction. The satisfaction faded immediately as the stormtrooper spoke again. "Weiss Schnee you are under arrest for treason, surrender now."

Weiss double checked the locks on the door, making sure she was secure in her room. "That is outrageous! I will have no more mutiny on my ship, have you learnt nothing from the Inquisitor?"

"By order of Inquisitor Taurus you are under arrest, this is your last warning."

Weiss felt her stomach sink, the Inquisitor had it out for her. She could hear the stormtroopers attempt to blast down the door, as was standard Imperial protocol. Thinking quickly Weiss hopped onto her desk, loosening the ceiling plate. If she knew anything, it was the ins and outs of her ship. Climbing into the ducts above her room Weiss began crawling, the sounds of blaster fire signalling the breaching of her room.

For what seemed like hours Weiss crawled, hearing the bustle of commotion below her. It sounded like the news of her arrest had spread. Occasionally she would hear troopers try and enter the ducts, causing her to have to remember the schematics as best as possible and find ways around the intruders. Crawling through wiring, piping, and ventilation shafts Weiss eventually made it to the area below the main hangar. Gently lifting the floor tile, Weiss peaked out into the hangar.

Empty. Save for a selection of TIE Fighters and shuttles the hangar was empty. Slowly Weiss pulled herself up, silently placing the floor tile back into place. She needed a shuttle, something with a hyperdrive, to get to her father. He was likely the only one able to call off the Inquisitor. He had believed her innocence when Cardin had mutinied, she had to try and convince him it was a simple misunderstanding. Even though this time, her actions were not as honest.

As stealthily as possible Weiss walked past the rows of TIE Fighters. Her nerves slowly faded, replaced by the rush of adrenaline as the Lambda Shuttle drew closer, the ramp lowered tantalizingly. "That is far enough Captain Schnee," a chilling voice echoed in the hangar. Weiss froze, gripping her blaster more tightly. From behind the shuttle emerged the dark clad Adam, alone. "Why have you done this Taurus, you come here to instil order on my ship only to throw it back into disorder."

"You have done this yourself. You are a traitor after all," Adam said almost happily as he pulled a metal cylinder from his belt. Weiss aimed her blaster, "What I am doing is for the best of the Empire, I want peace, that is all."

"You know nothing of the Empire, of its real strength. Though now, you never will, so shoot, I challenge you to try it." Adam stood with arms outstretched, defenceless. Weiss fired without hesitation or remorse. With lightning reflexes Adam ignited his lightsaber, swatting the blaster bolt aside. Weiss had no time to react as Adam sprung forward slicing with his red saber, cutting Weiss' blaster in half. Weiss kicked at him, Adam grunting in annoyance. Weiss jumped back, not fast enough to dodge the next cut of Adam's blade. The tip of the saber brushed against her face, slicing upwards and through her eye.

Weiss screamed, collapsing in pain, hands clutching the burn across her eye. As she faded into unconsciousness she felt the hands of stormtroopers drag her away.

Adam deactivated his lightsaber, "Take her to the interrogation chamber. Send word to the bridge, we have the location of a Rebel fleet, prepare for battle."

* * *

Ruby was the last member of the team who remained in the mess hall. After inspecting her new fighter everyone had moved to the mess hall to share a celebratory drink. Sadly the only alcohol available ran out almost immediately, that however didn't stop them from having a good time. The small party had ended now, but Ruby had wanted some time to herself. Not alone in her cramped room, but here in the hall, sitting in her comfortable chair looking at the giant screen feed out the vast space outside the ship. "Hey sis," Yang's voice causing Ruby to jump slightly,

"Oh, hey Yang."

Yang sat down on the couch next to her, sinking into the well-worn couch. "Nice group of friends you got here,"

"Yeah, we have been through a lot together."

"I can imagine. Dangerous missions and all that," Yang emphasising dangerous. Ruby smirked,

"I forgot how overprotective you can be," Ruby said cheerfully. Yang smiled,

"I missed being overprotective. Now I have to make up for all the time not protecting you."

"Well I'm sure you will be able to watch my back out there. There is always space in my squadron for my sister." Yang's smile faded,

"About that Ruby, I," Yang paused, reluctant to continue, "I'm not staying."

"What," Ruby exclaimed with surprise, "I thought you would want to stay, join up with me."

"I'm sorry Rubes, I'm not a soldier. I hate the Empire, but I'm not ready to give up everything to fight them, not yet. Blake and I are going to leave soon, figure out where we are going on the way."

"Oh," Ruby said sadly, turning back to the screen. Yang frowned, her eyes drifting to the screen as well.

"You can come if you want, but I know that this is what you want to do. It's dangerous and I don't like that it is, but it's what you want and I am not going to get in the way of that."

"Thanks, Yang. When this is all over Yang, I will come with you. For now, I need to be here, with my squadron."

The two sat silently for a time, watching the stars go by. Yang had seen this coming, but even expecting it, she wished Ruby could come with her. "Yang, about what happened, when we were separated," Ruby said breaking the silence.

"What about it?" Yang said as she turned back to her sister. Ruby was cut off by a sudden alarm ringing through the ship. "Scramble fighters, this is not a drill. Enemy craft detected."

Without another word Ruby sprang from her chair and bolted out of the mess hall. "Ruby wait!" Yang called after her, but she was already half way to the hangar, she had always been fast.

Ruby hurriedly zipped up her flight suit. Running through the hangar she eagerly leapt into the cockpit of her new A-Wing. Around her, Neptune, Sun, Jaune, Pyrrha and Nora all jumped into their own fighters. Gripping the controls Ruby quickly got acquainted with the new fighters layout. "Shame you didn't have time for a test run, guess we will have to see if your still a fast learner," Sun teased over the comms. Ruby smirked, "Cut the chatter Ace 3,"

"Yes ma'am," Sun replied, feigning remorse, smile glued to his face to see Ruby back in command.

"All fighters fall in behind me, target is coming in at mark three-five." Ruby led the fighters out of the hangar. "Lock S-foils in attack positions," Ruby reminding her squadron. Neptune, Sun, Jaune and Pyrrha all following the command. "It's a Star Destroyer," Jaune said anxiously.

"Incoming fighters!" Ruby commanded, eyes fixed on the battle cruiser before her. "Commander Rose, we need time to power up our hyperdrives, defend the transport ships at all costs," General Ozpin coming in over the fighters comms. Ruby needed not respond, her team knew what to do.

 _The Beacon_ turned to face the Star Destroyer, shielding as many other ships with its wider hull. "It's _The Blizzard_ , the ship we went after, the one you got captured on," Sun muttered in anger. Ruby gritted her teeth, Weiss had betrayed her, and now was here hunting her friends.

The two groups of fighters closed, each firing into the other. Ruby marvelled at the speed and manoeuvrability of her new fighter as she weaved past the enemy TIE Fighters, their laser fire unable to hit her. Beside her, her Squadron fought, all ducking and weaving through the hordes of enemy fighters. Unlike their enemies they didn't fire brazenly, precision and efficiency, that was how Ace squadron fought.

Above them _The Blizzard_ and _The Beacon_ exchanged fire, shields faltering under each other's turbolasers. Yet it was clear that the Mon Calamari cruiser was no match for the full force of the Star Destroyer. Slowly but surely, blasts broke through _The Beacon's_ shields, the hull exploding into molten shrapnel.

"TIE bombers approaching," Pyrrha alerted. Ruby pulled her fighter left, her target falling into her sights. With a quick burst of fire the fighter exploded, leaving the group of six bombers exposed. Ruby raked fire across two of them as she passed them. Neptune followed behind Ruby, catching another bomber with laser fire. "Sun, Nora take out those fighters!" Ruby ordered with fervour as a pair of TIE fighters joined hers and Neptune's tail. "I'm havin a little trouble here," Sun replied as his ship shook, his deflectors absorbing hits. "Bring, it, on!" Nora cried as she chased after a group of Tie's, even as several chased her.

Outnumbered and unable to stop the bombers from dumping their payload onto the defenceless transports. Ruby held back the tears of anger as she desperately tried to fend off the attack. A burst of laser blasts shredded through the last of the bombers, _The Ember_ soaring into the fray.

"Yeeeeeeeehaw!" Yang cried as the _Ember_ blasted away the fighters pursuing Ruby.

"Commander Rose, the last transport is about to leave, disengage your fighters and jump to the first rendezvous location." Ozpin commanded with relief as _The Beacon_ turned to disengage from the Star Destroyer. "You heard the man, get out of here," Yang prompted as she flew out of the chaos, her turrets firing into the following Tie's. Slowly but surely Ace squadron fought their way out of the mess of TIE Fighters. With one final glance at the Star Destroyer, Ruby flew into hyperspace.

* * *

Adam growled, hands clenched into fists as he watched the last of the Rebel fleet escaped. "Pursue them, find them!" Adam shouted back at the frightened crew.

"S-sir, we are unable to decipher their hyperspace route," a braver officer spoke up. Adam turned to him, his visor seeming to glow with malice. "Find them or I will end all of you like I did the last command crew," Adam speaking now only in whisper. The bridge exploded into action, all the officers swiftly getting to work. "Trooper, prepare the prisoner. I have the distinct feeling she will have a way to find them," Adam ordered as he made his way off the bridge, all eyes glued to him as he walked away.

* * *

 **Authors note: Thanks for reading, as always its been a blast to write this chapter. I am already working on the next chapter so expect that soon. In relation to my other current story Cost of the Creed, the final two chapters have been gruelling to write and need a lot of work but will be released eventually.**

 **Next time: Weiss under pressure! And the Hunt for the Rebel fleet continues!**


	6. Part 5

Weiss awoke with a jolt. Her breathing came raspy, her throat dry. A simple black cloth covered her injured eye, arms and legs bound by steel clasps attaching her to the interrogation table. Weiss knew this room well, many prisoners had ended up here, all broken. Weiss usually didn't need to use the many implements that the room held, their simple existence usually did the trick. She feared the Inquisitor was not one to follow her way of thinking, that torture was a barbaric act.

No, he probably agreed it was barbaric; it's probably what made it so attractive to him. The table moved, tilting itself so that Weiss now stood vertically. The door to the cell opened, Adam stepping down the small set of stairs, a hovering tray of torture instruments beside him. "It would seem your Rebel friends have escaped again,"

"They are not my friends," Weiss speaking through gritted teeth. Adam smiled, his hand gliding over the small table of instruments before him.

"You sent a communication to the Rebels, what did it contain? A warning?"

"I…" Weiss silenced herself, doubting Adam could ever understand.

"No words of defence? So you admit it then, you are a traitor." Adam didn't take any tools, instead her held out his hand, directing it at Weiss' throat. "Tell me where they are, tell me how to find them," Adam ordered. Weiss glared,

"My father sent you to deal with Cardin, who will he send to deal with you?" Weiss challenged, a confident smile sprouting on her face. Adam returned the expression,

"Foolish girl, you think your father was not privy to this. Even if you are innocent, with two suspected traitorous acts, your father has been forced to disown you. You are a disgrace, one that threatens the Grand Moff's careers."

Weiss shuddered, hands pressing against the binds that held her. "Lies," Weiss whispered, voice filled with malice. "No, no. I speak truth, unlike you. Now tell me, how do I find them!"

"I don't know!" Weiss screamed back. Her throat seized as if being chocked. Adam stepped closer hand still outstretched. Weiss chocked, the invisible hand gripping tightly on her throat. Her vision started to blacken, her head starting to fall. Then as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. Weiss gasped, air flooding back into her lungs with relief. "Now tell me where they have gone," Adam ordered. Weiss only panted, staring at him coldly. Adam sighed,

"I will give you some time to think. Pray I don't have to do that again." Then he left, the door sliding shut behind him.

Weiss sobbed, unable to hold back her tears. She struggled against her restraints, fighting the chaffing pain of the metal cuffs. It didn't take her long to give up, shoulders sinking with exhaustion. How could she explain her act? Many would see it as treason; they would ignore her logic that peace was the ultimate goal, not the destruction of the Rebels.

They would do what was best for themselves. They would abandon their family in order to further their position. They would destroy entire planets just for an inkling of power. They would betray, scheme and murder anyone in their way. All for their selfish gains, never considering the consequences of their actions, the scars they left behind them.

Weiss wouldn't die like this. She would bring peace to the galaxy. Her Father and the Empire he served were the real traitors. Weiss had no choice now, she would die here if she couldn't find a way out. If Weiss wanted to do good, if she wanted to right the wrongs associated with her family, she would have to leave.

* * *

The fleet abruptly exited hyperspace. The sudden change startled Ruby, her hand grasping flight stick of her A-wing tightly. Her ship being slaved to the hyperspace controls of _The Beacon_ meant that it had called off the jump. "Why have we stopped?" Ruby asked, her eyes scanning her sensors for signs of enemy contacts.

"Commander Rose, bring your squadron aboard. There have been complications," Ozpin's tone laced with seriousness. Ruby passed on the order to her team, Ace Squadron slowly cruising into the docking bay of the Mon Calamari cruiser. As she flew in, she noticed the black charred hull of _the Beacon_ , as well as the various states of damage the other transport ships appeared to be in. The fleet had taken a beating; Ruby doubted it could take another.

* * *

Weiss stretched her hand as far as she could, the table of torture instruments that had been left behind. Floating just out of her reach, Weiss groaned as the cuffs bit into her arm. Relaxing finally, Weiss sighed with annoyance. The tray hovered ever so slightly closer, Weiss laughing softly at her luck. Once again she reached forward, her restrained hands only able to inch forward against the bands holding her to the table. The tip of her finger brushed against the edge of the tray, slowly pulling it closer. Her hands clasped the cylindrical hilt of a blade, grinning with victory as she spun the blade and tried to find the screw she knew held the shackle in place. The screw turned, slowly leaving the socket, the cuff coming loose. With a click the screw fell to the floor, allowing Weiss to wiggle her hand free. Setting to work quickly Weiss unscrewed the other cuff, then moving down to the feet braces. Nervously Weiss kept glancing at the door, waiting for the stormtroopers to come in and blast her. They never came, and Weiss fell free of the interrogation table.

Grabbing other tools she thought useful Weiss moved to the door. Prying off a panel using a crowbar like hook from the table Weiss drew the shock implement. Finding the relevant set of wires Weiss cut them open, using the shock tool to send channels of electricity through the exposed wire. With a hiss the door slid open, Weiss dashing outside. Coming into the long hallway of the detention centre Weiss cast her eyes to her sides quickly, making sure she hadn't been seen. She didn't have much time before someone checked the cameras and saw her missing, if they had not already.

Moving close to the wall, keeping low, Weiss crept towards the detention centre command station. Idly sitting in his chair sat the engineering officer on duty, body shielded from view by the U shaped command station. Creeping to hide behind the console, Weiss readied the shock tool. Tossing the bladed tool to her side, the metal clang drew the officer's attention. Distracted, Weiss moved around the corner of the station, jabbing the shock tool into the officers back. The crackle of electricity combined with a pained grunt broke the silence of the detention centre. The engineer slumped, unconscious, onto the control panel.

Weiss, nerves still churning her stomach like a disturbed Rancor, began to change into the engineer's uniform. It was almost unbelievable that she hadn't been caught yet, this fact only prompting her to move faster. The uniform didn't quite fit, but the black colour obscured her size well enough. Finally she placed the helmet on her head, adequately hiding her identity. Weiss stepped into the elevator, intending on once again making for the hangar.

* * *

"The situation is rather dire I'm afraid," General Ozpin stated as he paced around the holo-projector. Ruby sat with her squadron in the circular briefing room, eyes fixed on the fleets readouts. "Three of our transport ships suffered major engine damage, resulting in their inability to make a further hyperspace jump. Furthermore, _The Beacon_ has also sustained major damage, if we were to jump again it could likely cause a major shutdown of several critical systems."

"So we're stuck?" Sun asked dryly. Ozpin nodded,

"Your fighters still have hyperspace capability and could make a jump to a nearby system. Yet only two of our transports would be able to follow. So now we must decide on what to do," Ozpin stopped his pacing standing in front of the projector eyebrow raised and waiting for answers. Yang stepped forward, her and Blake standing by the entrance at the back of the room. "You're the general, aren't you supposed to give everyone orders?"

"On my ship everyone has a say. This isn't a Imperial star destroyer, I won't kill an officer for speaking up." Yang nodded in approval of his answer, going back to lean on the wall. Ozpin returned his gaze to the group of pilots. "Well we got away from the Imp's so what's the big deal?" Neptune said confidently. Jaune shook his head,

"We are not far enough away, if they send out scouts they will probably find us in a few days, maybe even a few hours."

"Commander Rose?" Ozpin said as he eyed the ever focused pilot. Ruby snapped out of her thoughts, eyes rising to meet Ozpin's.

"I don't think there is much we can do. My squadron will stay and protect the damaged ships. Any other ship that can leave, probably should."

"They'll be undefended out there though," Jaune chimed in, Ruby shrugged,

"Better to gamble that they don't run into more trouble, than gamble on dealing with the trouble coming after us." Ruby's response garnered a series of nods from the rest of the room,

"Penny has supplied us with the location of several Imperial traps, with that information the transports will have a better time making it to their destination," Ren added from beside Nora. Ozpin smiled, a weariness seeping into the expression, "It appears we have a solid plan. Ace Squadron, prepare your fighters for deployment, we don't know when or if the Empire will arrive, if they do you must be ready. Mr Lie, it would be very helpful if you co-ordinate with our techs in repairing the damaged craft." Ren nodded confirmation, the rest of the group beginning to disperse.

* * *

Weiss nodded to the squad of stormtroopers that passed. Her nerves had reached a high point, just like before she stood in front of the Imperial shuttle. It had been easy, moving in disguise, nobody paid much attention to the hundreds of engineers that scurried around the ship. It had been too easy. There still had not been any alarms signifying her escape. Her ship would have never run that poorly, never be so unprofessional. Then again it was barley her crew anymore.

No, it was Adam's crew, just as this was clearly Adam's plan. The ship had not jumped in pursuit of the Rebels, meaning they still had no idea where they were. Weiss knew the game now, she understood what was expected of her. She was too escape, and lead Adam to the enemy. The shuttle almost certainly had a tracking device hidden on it, they would almost certainly let it escape without injury. Weiss would not be used again, no, instead she would use Adam's plan against him.

Weiss stepped on board, immediately heading for the controls. Sending through basic authorization codes, Weiss took off. As she predicted her escape was unhindered by laser fire or chasing TIE fighters, she simply flew out of the star destroyer. Weiss activated the shuttles hyperdrive, flicking through the nearby star systems. Somewhere out in the stars lay the Rebel fleet, Weiss just had to guess where. The outer rim was filed with smuggling dens and pirate havens, easy places for the Rebellion to lay low. She doubted she could find them with a simple jump, she needed to find a place where she could lay low herself, and seek information on where they were. There were not many places nearby that could accommodate her needs. The closest she could find would take several short jumps through heavily hyperspace shadowed areas. Deciding on her course Weiss locked in the co-ordinates. After that she quickly set to work finding the tracking device, knowing the usual places very well she found it quickly, readying to disable it. With a smile Weiss sat back down in the pilot seat with a devilish idea.

"This is Shuttle Aggregator, requesting permission to jump," Weiss comming the star destroyer behind her.

"Uh, permission granted," the reply came, the obviously confused. Weiss smiled, Adam could probably hear her now,

"In that case, tell Inquisitor Taurus that it has been a pleasure, and that the tracking device, sadly, will not work." Weiss cut off the channel as she heard the angry shuffling of the Inquisitor behind the communications officer. The star destroyer opened fire, lances of green light coming flying towards the shuttle. Just before the blast hit, Weiss jumped.

* * *

Yang sat in the cockpit of her ship. _Ember_ was parked at the back of the hangar, overlooking the other fighters. In front of her the techs quickly returned all the fighters to full working order, refitting them with new torpedos and refuelling the ships. Yang hadn't taken any real damage during the fight, her deflector shield had taken a hammering, but otherwise unharmed. On the console before her sat the message. It was meant for Ruby, but Yang opened it anyway, it was her ship after all. If only she could have seen it earlier, she might have been able to alert the fleet. It also meant that Weiss maybe wasn't as bad as they had all thought. If she had tried to warn them, then maybe she had not betrayed them. Blake wouldn't believe it, but maybe it would make Ruby feel a bit better.

With a sigh Yang spun her chair and walked to the ramp. Wandering through the messy hangar yang found Ruby kneeling by her spin, fusion welder busy at work spraying sparks around her. "Hey Rubes, I got a message for you."

Ruby looked up from her ship, lifting the welding goggles off her eyes. "From who?" Ruby asked quizzically. Yang chuckled,

"Well you're not going to be able to guess, and I'm not going to ruin the surprise. It'll be better if you see it."

"Uh, sure?" Ruby said as she discarded her goggles and her welder. The two began their walk over, Ruby frowning as she raced through everyone who could have messaged her who wasn't already on the cruiser. Halfway through the hangar the alarm sounded, all the techs and astromechs freezing in place. "Enemy craft detected, scramble fighters," the warped voice said, echoing through the hangar. The hangar exploded into action again, Ruby leaping over the mess of cables on the ground as she raced towards her fighter. Yang moved more slowly, watching everyone else rush to their ships.

Ruby pulled on her helmet as she climbed inside. Ahead of her Jaune and Pyrrha took off, sliding out of the hangar into space. Ruby activated her fighters repulsorlifts, the wedge shaped snubfighter lifting off the hangar bay and following the X-wings out. "Ace four what are you reading?" Ruby said, calling to Jaune,

"I'm picking up a single shuttle Ace One," Jaune said with curiosity. Ruby spied the white Imperial shuttle, trying to determine its intention. Beside her Sun and Neptune matched her speed, "Do we shoot it?" Sun asked eagerly.

"Lock S-foils in attack position, but hold your fire." Around her the X-wings split their wings into attack position. Ruby commed the shuttle, making sure her ships blasters were trained on it. "Imperial shuttle, in the name of the Rebel Alliance to restore the Republic you are ordered to surrender your ship."

"Ruby? This is Weiss, I surrender, I'm here to join you," Weiss voice filled with surprise and relief. Ruby's grip tightened on her flight stick.

"Shuttle, proceed to the docking bay of _The Beacon_ , if you make any suspicious movements we will be forced to fire," Ruby's voice betraying her anger.

"Ruby I'm surrendering, my ship couldn't hurt you even if-" Ruby cut the comm channel, banking her fighter to position itself behind the shuttle as it glided towards the hangar.

* * *

Blake watched intently as the shuttle was surrounded by soldiers. The ramp clanked down onto the hangar bay floor, a figure clad in black with white hair striding down. Immediately Weiss was cuffed, soldiers running up the ramp behind her to check the shuttle. Blake moved forward to hear the various words being exchanged. "I had no idea you were here, check my navigation system, this was just one jump in a series!" Weiss shouted back at the Rebel soldier. "I am defecting form the Empire! I was actually going to try and find you and join up, I bring you no harm, in fact I can provide helpful intelligence. Now get these cuffs off me!" Weiss thrusting her bound hands forth demandingly. The soldier shook his head and motioned for her to be taken away. Blake smiled, seeing a Schnee getting there just deserts was a welcome sight. Blake was surprised however to notice the eye patch draped across Weiss' left eye, something she had not had last time. That and a look of pure defeat and exhaustion.

"Stop," Ruby called to the pair of soldiers dragging Weiss away. Ruby held her helmet under her arm, Sun and Neptune walking behind her. Sun and Neptune glared at the defeated Imperial captain, still bitter over the last encounter. "Why are you really here Weiss?"

"As I said, I didn't mean to find you, I just did," Weiss not meeting Ruby's gaze.

"You betrayed us on Tatooine, why would I trust you? This is just another one of your games. How far away is your ship?"

"It's nearby, but they didn't track me, I destroyed the tracking device," Weiss said, voice wavering with sadness. Ruby remained stone faced, "You said you didn't want to join us, what changed?"

Weiss looked up, meeting Ruby's gaze with her own, one eyed stare. Ruby winced, examining the black cloth draped over her eye. "Don't listen to her Ruby, it's just more Imperial lies. She has something planned and we should be preparing for it," Blake said dragging Ruby away. Sun and Neptune followed, Leaving Yang to study the weary Weiss, "I got your message,"

"Then you know I'm trying to help," Weiss pleaded. Yang squinted, trying to detect any hint of deception. "I'll do what I can, but if you are planning something, if you try to hurt Ruby," Yang paused, lips pursed tightly together, "I will end you." Weiss sighed, head drooping as she was dragged out of the hangar and towards the brig.

Ruby and her wing mates, Sun and Neptune stood by their ships. "We should just toss her out the airlock. She's killed our friends, captured Ruby, it's what she deserves," Sun said with arms crossed. Neptune nodded, "It's only fair."

"What if she's telling the truth though," Ruby said hesitantly, her hope beating away her doubts. Blake shook her head,

"She's a Schnee, her Father destroyed my planet, a peaceful, defenceless planet at that. I doubt the fruit fell far from the tree."

"So what do we do?" Sun asked, Ruby stared him down,

"Nothing it's not our call, General Ozpin will decide her fate." Blake clenched her fists,

"Get me close to her and I can get the truth out of her." Everyone turned, Sun nodding along with the plan. Ruby was divided, if there was a plot they needed to learn about it before it cost the fleet, but torture? "Is that how you are doing things now?" Yang asked as she walked up behind the group, Blake turned, the odd feeling of embarrassment in her stomach. "I doubt you're going to ask her nicely, thought you had gotten over that part of your life," Yang said accusingly. She walked into the middle of the group, tossing a datapad to Ruby, "This is a message the _Ember_ picked up before the attack, I missed it at the time, but Weiss was trying to warn you."

"What?" Ruby said with surprise as she looked down at the pad, reading the message. Sun looked over her shoulder, reading along, his expression softening as he read. Neptune raised a questioning eyebrow at Sun, who nodded in confirmation of the legitimacy of the message. Blake kept her fists clenched, "What if this message is just another play? Try to get us to let our guard down, Schnee's are devious,"

Yang looked at her with a look bordering on disgust. "Let's talk," Yang said as she grabbed Blake's arm, pulling her away. Ducking under the nose of the X wing Yang brought her out of sight of the others. "What's your deal?" Yang said in a serious tone,

"What do you mean, what's my deal? Weiss is the enemy! I can feel it!" Blake shouted back, standing on the tips of her toes to stare Yang in the eye. Yang frowned,

"Like hell you _feel_ it, you're mad at Weiss' dad and are taking it out on her!"

"She's an Imperial! Maybe I am mad at her father, but she is not an innocent! She betrayed us once, I won't let her do it again!" Blake banged her fist against the nose of the X-wing.

"Your right, she's not innocent, but neither am I, neither are you!" Yang following suit and slamming her fist alongside Blake's. Sun ducked underneath the ship, coming to stand between the two, "Hey leave her alone bounty hunter," Sun said standing defensively in front of Blake. Yang rolled her eyes,

"Shove off flyboy," Yang said dismissively, Sun glaring in annoyance. Blake pushed Sun aside, an irritated look in her eye,

"This is a private conversation," Blake said coldly. Sun looked hurt by the response, but walked away.

Yang sighed, "Blake, my gut's telling me she is telling the truth. I don't know if it's the force or a guess. That's not important though, you're scaring me. Your acting like your old Imperial self here," Yang looked at her, a worried, almost motherly look in her eye. Blake realised how angry she was, she felt as she had a hundred times before in the heat of battle. Blake slumped against the X-wing, eyes closed and breathing slow to calm herself. "I'm sorry, and your right."

"I usually am," Yang said with a smirk. "You're technically my teacher, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to look out for you."

"So what do we do now?" Blake asked,

"We do nothing, as Ruby said, it's Ozpin's call. If we are going to be sticking around we might as well follow the status quo." Blake raised an eyebrow at this,

"I thought we were leaving?" Yang shrugged,

"I kind of like it here, it's not as strict as I thought it would be. I don't want to join up officially but I'm sure we could lend a hand here and there."

Blake nodded, appearing to be slightly sad. "I think I need to meditate, clear my head"

"Sure thing, I'll leave you to it. Don't do anything stupid," Yang patted her on the shoulder and moved past her, heading back into the throng of activity on the hangar.

* * *

"So, Ms Schnee, is there anything else you feel you need to tell me?" General Ozpin asked from across the silver table. The Rebel interrogation room was much more inviting than Weiss' old one, a simple table with a pair of chairs, a large spotlight above the table. "No, that is everything. I betrayed the _Ember's_ location to my father. I resumed command of my star destroyer, I tried to warn Ruby of the coming attack, and because of the message I was usurped again."

"Why did you send the message? Surely you knew it could jeopardise your command?" Ozpin asked as he took a sip of his Caf. Weiss stared off into space,

"I just want peace. I was hoping to broker that peace eventually, but I needed someone within the Rebellion in order to negotiate. Ruby is trustworthy, she saved my life even though I was her enemy."

"Now you believe you can bring peace by joining the Rebellion?"

"It's my only option now."

Ozpin nodded slowly, examining her face. "I am thankful for the information regarding the location of the _Blizzard_. While it is troubling how close it is, it means we can further prepare if it does find us. However, I believe it best however, for you to stay isolated. There are many on this ship who would not trust you, your presence may cause a division on the ship. Right now I need everyone focused on surviving this difficult time."

"So what does that mean for me?" Weiss now staring at the General intently.

"You will have to remain in the brig for the time being. After we have escaped and are safe, we will discuss your joining the Rebellion. You are not the first Imperial defector, and will certainly not be the last."

"As you wish."

* * *

The Imperial officer fell to the floor, smoking hole passing through his chest. Adam deactivated his saber, stepping over the dead officer. "You," Adam said pointing at another officer, "What information did you get from the traitors hyperspace vector?"

"N-not, m-much sir. We have i-identified several possible locations she may have jumped too," the man said, sweating profusely. Adam grit his teeth,

"Send the information to my private chamber, and prepare to jump the moment I say so."

"Aye sir," the officer said as he quickly looked away from the Inquisitor. Adam stalked back to his room, his anger boiling inside him. He would not fail again, he would use this anger to find his targets. The dark room brought him focus, his eyes glancing over the possible destinations of the Grand Moff's daughter. Adam shut his eyes, focusing on his need to kill Weiss. He imagined her death, falling to his red blade. He sent his mind outwards, his red hot hate being drawn to the cool demeanour of his target. Something crept in on his searching, a dark, brooding presence. "Blake," Adam whispered a smile slowly forming on his lips. Adam activated his comm, "Bridge, prepare to jump. We have them."

* * *

Blake felt his presence. She shuddered as she broke out of her trance, a tingling feeling splaying across her spine. He was coming. Blake knew he was a hunter, spending his life tracking down Jedi and Rebels, but his abilities seemed greater than she expected. If he could find her over such long a distance, he was more powerful than Blake, too much for her to deal with. It also meant she was endangering everyone around her.

Blake leapt to her feet, dashing through the _Ember_. Practically leaping down the ramp she ran to alert the ship.

* * *

The door to the brig slid open, revealing a single, ray shield protected, cell. Weiss sat inside on the slid out bed, head resting against the wall, eye cast upwards staring into space. Ruby stepped inside, waiting for Weiss to react. When she did not, Ruby slid down the wall beside the door, sitting on the floor with her back leant against the bulkhead. "I got your message, not in time, I wish it had been, but I got it," Ruby said softly. Weiss looked down at her, her face almost emotionless,

"I'm sorry you didn't get it sooner too," Weiss' words were distant, like she was thinking of other things. Ruby sighed, resting her head in her hand,

"I'm sorry for how I acted earlier, if I had known you sent that message…"

"It's not your fault, you were right after all," Weiss following suit and leaning her head against her hand.

"What do you mean?"

"I was a fool, just another tool in the Emperor's arsenal. Just another tool for my father. You are right to hate the Empire, they are evil, manipulative and cruel. I could never change any of that, I'm just too weak," Weiss spoke quietly, a tear rolling down her cheek. Ruby frowned, holding back tears of her own,

"That's not true, you were strong enough to leave. That's a hell of a lot stronger than a lot of other Imperials"

Weiss tore the cloth from her eye, throwing it into the ray shield. Her wound had quickly sealed, leaving a scar running vertically through her eye, the eye itself blinded. "Branded a traitor, just like that," Weiss said bitterly. "They had to imprison me and on top of that make me hideous," Weiss laughed.

Ruby winced at the sight of the scar, but shook her head, "You're not hideous. Everyone on board this ship has a scar or two courtesy of the Empire, it's a badge of honour here." Ruby stood and pulled her shirt up slightly, revealing a long scar running across her back, "See, everyone's got one."

Weiss looked at the scar, now not feeling as sorry for herself as she did before. "How did you get yours?" Weiss asked, leaning back on the wall, Ruby hesitated but eventually responded.

"At the Imperial academy," Ruby watched for Weiss reaction. Weiss' eyes widened mouth slowly gaping in surprise,

"You attended the academy?

"Wouldn't really say attended, I was forced too and managed to get out pretty quickly," Ruby's eyes glazing over, her mind casting back to her time at the academy. "I don't remember much of my family. Only a few brief memories of when we were all together, I'm pretty sure we spent the whole time on the run, can't remember why though. The Imp's caught up to us, last memory I have of my dad is him fighting them off. My mother tried to pull me and Yang away, Yang broke away to help dad, don't remember what happened to her after. The troopers took me and my mum captive, after a few months in captivity I was sent to some facility where they kept children for future training. I never saw my mother after that."

Ruby's head sunk a little, staring at the space between her legs. Weiss closed her eyes, fighting off more tears. "I'm so sorry," Weiss stood as she spoke waling closer to the ray shield. "I truly was a fool for thinking I could change the Empire, thinking that I could use you to try and barter a peace between us. You're all fighting because you have suffered, and a truce won't erase that suffering. Now I know how it feels," Weiss cast her head down in shame, fists clenched in ager. Ruby got to her feet as well, taking a step forward to stand in front of Weiss, "Look, you're here now. You escaped from your ship, I escaped from the academy. We both have our scars but we are both fighting to make sure no one else has go through what we did."

Weiss looked up, staring into Ruby's silver eyes through the blue haze of the ray shield. Ruby held her confident smile, her sureness gave Weiss belief, belief that she could still bring peace. Now though she would be able to bring justice as well.

The moment ended when the door slid open again, this time a panting Jaune stumbled inside. "Ruby… Impstar Deuce on the way… Ozpin's looking for you," Jaune said between breathes. Ruby glanced back at Weiss and took a step towards the exit, "Wait! Let me help, I have no idea what an "Impstar Duece' is but I know Imperial tactics and systems." Weiss hovered as close to the ray shield as she dared, desperate to be out of the cell. Ruby looked to Jaune who shrugged, taking deep breath Ruby took a step back and deactivated the shield. "Impstar deuce is pilot speak for star destroyer, probably yours," Ruby said seriously the three of them walking towards the bride. Weiss nodded, "If it is the _Blizzard_ then we are in trouble, I saw extensive damage to this ship on my way in."

"Wouldn't be a Rebel engagement if the odds weren't stacked against us," Jaune added from behind the determined pair. Ruby smiled,

"Clutching victory from defeat is what Ace Squadron does. Jaune, make sure everyone is prepped for combat, I will talk to Ozpin."

"Sure thing," Jaune said before running off down an adjacent hallway.

* * *

"We don't have any readings reporting an incoming star destroyer, are you sure Ms Belladonna?" Ozpin asked as he once again read of the sensor reports. Yang and Blake stood on the bridge, "She's sure, you have to trust us. Either get the fleet moving or prepare for battle," Yang said defiantly. Ozpin gave her a stare, evaluating her seriousness. "If you can't detect it now it means we still have time," Blake said desperately, the image of Adam haunting her mind. Ruby stepped into the command centre from behind Blake and Yang, Weiss standing beside her. "Commander Rose, and Ms Schnee," Ozpin declared slightly surprised to see Weiss. Ruby strode forwards nodding a greeting to her sister, "What's the situation sir?"

"Your sister and her companion have warned us of an incoming attack. While there is no evidence of this, I am inclined to believe them, it was inevitable after all," Ozpin spoke a brief command to the officer at his side, the command crew exploding into action to prepare the defence. "We are still immobilised, our shields and weaponry however are at full operational capacity. We will defend the transports, some may be able to make the jump, others will have to hope we can fend off the Imperials."

"Ace squadron is at your command sir," Ruby said with a short salute. Ozpin smiled calmly,

"Your squadron will be our only hope for holding off enemy fighters, and, if possible, making attack runs on the destroyer itself."

Yang frowned, "No offense General, but those fighters can't take on a battle ship."

Ozpin kept his smile, "It was a band of fighters that destroyed the Death Star at Yavin, we just need to find a weak point."

"I might be able to assist with that," Weiss spoke up stepping forward. All eyes turned to her, Blake glaring at her suspiciously. "If it is the _Blizzard_ then there is a weak point," Weiss looked to Ozpin for permission to continue, Ozpin granting it with a nod. "A few weeks ago we engaged a pirate force, they had several frigate class ships. The managed to deal significant damage to an area near the base of the command tower. We lacked the time to perform a full repair, only managing to place a temporary hull plate over the area. If you were able to crack that hull plate, turbolasers, proton torpedos, even concussion missiles would be able to pierce through the ship and damage the reactor."

"Thus disabling, possibly destroying the ship," Ruby said excitedly from beside Weiss.

"Ms Schnee, it would be most helpful if you would assist me form the bridge in the coming battle," Ozpin said with a slight bow. Weiss took a deep breath,

"It would be my honour to assist you General."

Weiss and Ruby shared a smile, "Commander Rose, prepare your fighters,"Ozpin ordered as he turned back to the viewport, examining the stars.

"Yes sir," Ruby said eagerly racing off to man her fighter. Yang smirked and followed after her, Blake sighing and running after the both of them.

* * *

Ace squadron flew in formation, Ruby leading with Neptune and Sun on her wings. Behind them Jaune and Pyrrha escorted Nora in her Y-wing. The squadron flew patrolling circles around the fleet, waiting for the _Blizzard_ to leave hyperspace. "Alright everyone, you know the plan," ruby checked in with her team. Sun grinned,

"Ace one, two and three deals with the fighters,"

"Ace four and five protect Ace six as she makes her bombing run on the target," Jaune added. Ruby nodded, rolling her shoulders and double checking her ships systems. "Don't forget about us," Yang called over the comms, the _Ember_ banking past the squadron. Ruby laughed, "I doubt I could even if I wanted to Yang."

The comms stayed silent for a few more minutes, everyone checking and double checking their weapon systems and shields.

"Ace squadron we are picking up a ship leaving hyperspace at mark six-oh-five," Weiss voice transmitting from the bridge of the _Beacon_. Ruby pulled her flight stick to the right, truing the ship towards the co-ordinates of the enemy ship.

The empty space quickly changed, an Imperial class two star destroyer suddenly taking up the once empty view. "Ace squadron we have enemy fighters, be careful," Weiss said with worry seeping into her voice. "Alright people, lock s-foils in attack position," Ruby commanded as she inspected the incoming fighters.

"Looks like we have squints and eyeballs, no bombers," Sun said, beating Ruby to the punch.

"Excuse me?" Weiss said in confusion, Ruby grinned

"Interceptors and TIE fighters, more pilot speak."

Ruby locked on to the fastest moving enemy fighter, preparing her torpedoes. "Volley of torpedoes two and three, give them something to think about,"

"Yes ma'am," replied Neptune. Only a few clicks out Ruby fired, her wing mates following suit, sending streaking blue lights towards the incoming fighters. The torpedoes impacted, eviscerating fighters left and right, and creating a hole in the oncoming attack. Ruby slammed her stick to the left, juking out of the way of several green bolts of energy. Twisting the ship back Ruby returned fire, linking her laser cannons to fire at the same time. Her blasts took the wing of a TIE fighter, and burned through an interceptor.

The two forces passed one another, both looping back around too re-engage their targets. Ruby pulled her stick into her chest, sending the ship upwards, curving back to face the enemy fighters. Below her Jaune, Pyrrha and Nora made for the star destroyer, easily avoiding the slow turbolaser fire from the star destroyer.

Yang spun into the TIE fighters, spears of green light dancing around her. Beside her Ren quickly adjusted the deflector shields, pointing the bulk of them at whatever large group of fighters came hurtling towards them. In the two turrets sat Blake and Penny, both sending laser fire into the horde of TIE fighters. The freighter shook as it absorbed more fire, "How are the shields holding up?" Yang asked through gritted teeth, her attention almost fully taken up by the series of loops and turns she was making to avoid death. "They are holding for now," Ren responded calmly, even in the heat of battle he remained composed. Yang chuckled to herself, he would have made an excellent Jedi.

"This is Ace five," Pyrrha called desperately into the comms, "We have interceptors on our tail,"

"I can't shake them!" Jaune cried nervously as his rear deflectors absorbed more fire.

"I'm coming!" Yang cried, pushing the ship towards the star destroyer. "Let's hope those shields still hold after this," Yang commented nervously. The _Ember_ flew just over the hull of the star destroyer, the guns unable to hit a target flying so close to their own hull. Coming up from underneath the interceptors Blake fired a torrent of red energy into the pair of enemy fighters. Her shots managed to blast the engines of the first, sending it hurtling down towards the hull of the star destroyer, the other managing to roll out of the way. The _Ember_ broke off to chase down the escaping interceptor, leaving Jaune, Pyrrha and Nora free to continue their run.

Weiss fell against the hull of the _Beacon,_ the ship shaking as the deflector shield started to fail. "Sir, we are reporting several hull breaches at sector five through seven," a worried tech reported. Ozpin grimaced, "Seal off all the necessary decks, continue to focus fire the star destroyers command tower."

Weiss read the readouts of the two capital ships. The _Blizzard_ appeared to be absorbing the terrajoules of energy that the _Beacon_ was firing at it. The _Beacon_ however, was starting to crumble, not having fully recovered from the first engagement. "General if we do not move away from their front arc of fire, they will incinerate us," Weiss informed Ozpin. Ozpin nodded grimly,

"I'm afraid we have no other options but to weather the storm, and hope that your plan works in time for us to survive."

"Sir I have another idea, take the ship underneath theirs, our firepower is not enough to break their shields, and if they are still intact then the bombing run will have no effect. If we draw their attention elsewhere, make them shift power to a different area of the shields, it might give the bomber a better chance."

"Very good, helmsman, take us under the star destroyer. The underside of the star destroyer has fewer batteries."

Ruby raced behind another fighter, sending a pair of lasers through the ships cockpit. Her fighter vibrated as more shots impacted her rear deflectors, the power rating slowly falling. Ruby pulled her ship down, fling head on into Neptune's X-wing. Neptune fired around her, blasting away her tail. "Nice shot Ace 3,"

"This is Ace six, I'm going in!" Nora cried with excitement, and not a small amount of bloodlust. Nora's targeting computer came to life, the numbers counting down rapidly as she came in range. The numbers hit zero, and Nora unleashed her payload. Beside her Jaune and Pyrrha fired missiles of their own. The ordinance slammed into the star destroyer, the deflector shield grew white, quickly turning pink before evaporating. Pieces of the now liquidised hull exploded outwards, leaving a red hot hole of superheated metal.

"We have a hit!" Nora cheered, Weiss quickly looking at the readouts broke the bad news,

"Negative Ace six, the reactor is intact, you only damaged the hull."

"Aw what!?" Nora whined in disappointment. The bombing team began to turn and set up another attack run, now however, they had attracted serious attention.

"Sir, the star destroyer is focusing fire on the bomber team," Weiss said with surprise. Adam was letting his emotions guide him, rather than focusing on taking out the main target.

The bombing team broke apart, trying to create a smaller overall target. Jaune and Pyrrha managed to move back into the main fight, joining Ruby and her wing in destroying the fighters. Nora Spun around for another bombing run, only to have her left engine clipped by laser fire. En engine exploded, sending Norra spinning down past the star destroyer. "Get a tractor beam on that fighter!" Ozpin ordered quickly as the Y-wing flew towards the _Beacon,_ now hidden underneath the star destroyer.

"Ruby, I mean Ace one, Ace six is secure, but the run was unsuccessful," Weiss said anxiously.

"Copy _Beacon_. Ace two, three-" Ruby cut herself as she slammed the flight stick to her left, narrowly avoiding the spear of turbolaser fire. The _Blizzard_ now focused all its fire into the mess of snubfighters. Around her Tie fighters exploded, being killed by their own command ships fire. Ruby rolled her fighter randomly, narrowly avoiding the stream of green laser blasts. "I'm hit!" Sun cried as his right wings came free.

"I'm out!" Neptune bellowed as his ship's engines sparked, leaving him dead in space.

"Pyrrha no!" Jaune said as he boosted his ship in front of Pyrrha's, the bolt destroying his X-wing as he quickly ejected.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried out in desperation as she flew ahead of a focused stream of laser fire.

Ruby stared wide eyed at the destruction that played out before her. The remnants of fighters creating a debris field around her. "Ace squadron! Report!" Weiss screamed into the comm, breath catching in her throat. "This is Ace one, preparing for bombing run," Ruby spoke without emotion, forgetting about the possible loss of her freinds. Weiss let out her held breath, the sick feeling in her stomach however remained. "Ruby it's too dangerous, abort, please," Weiss pleaded. Ozpin walked up to the comm unit,

"Commander Rose, you are our only hope, we will do what we can from here," the ship shook again as the star destroyer returned its focus to the _Beacon._ "May the force be with you."

* * *

"Sir we lost our fighters, but the enemy fighters, bar two, have been disabled," the gunnery officer reported. Adam smiled,

"Now that they have been eliminated return fire on their cruiser, it's time we put that wounded beast down."

"Yes sir," the gunnery officer hesitated, "Ah, sir, there is a danger." Adam turned to him a confused look on his face,

"What?" Adam asked, venom dripping in his words. The officer gulped,

"The area they hit was a weakened area of hull, one that leaves the main reactor exposed."

"And?"

"If it is hit again, the ship could very well detonate." Adam stared for a moment, unsure what to do. With a growl he turned back to the battle.

"Let nothing through, destroy their cruiser. Send what fighters we have left, it will take a miracle for them to destroy us, and prepare my fighter."

"Ruby, we are with you," Yang said as the _Ember_ pulled in behind Ruby's A-wing.

"Yang it's too dangerous, see if you can recover the others."

"Like hell, the _Beacon_ will get them, we need to take this thing out," Yang said adamantly. Ruby sighed, not bothering to protest further.

"Ruby they are targeting us with their guns again," Ren informed everyone. Ruby activated her targeting computer, pushing her fighter to full speed,

"Yang keep the fighters off me, it looks like they are sending out the reserves."

"No problem sis, you hear that Blake?"

"On it."

Ruby shot ahead of the freighter, the wedge shaped craft reaching insane speeds. Around her the star destroyers gunners desperately tried to get a shot off, none even getting close. From below the star destroyer came another three TIE fighters. The _Ember,_ now trailing a fair distance behind opened fire, scattering the rookie Tie's. Ruby took a deep breath, focusing completely on her target. In her ship, she was in her element. Ghosting the flight stick slightly her fighter moved marginally left and right, further avoiding the laser batteries below her. Another TIE fighter rose from below the destroyer, this one however was no normal Tie. It's thicker body and arched wings declared it an advanced model.

Ruby glanced at her rear scanners, shunting power to her rear deflectors as the advanced fighter approached. "Hmm, a force sensitive," Adam said curiously as he chased down the red fighter, its precise movements keeping it out of his targeting reticule. Adam shot, his twin laser bolts splashing onto Ruby's rear deflectors. Ruby's ship shuddered as she absorbed the hit.

Blake destroyed the last fighter, moving the turret back to covering Ruby. It seemed another TIE had joined the fight, Blake studying it came to a sudden realisation. "Yang! Get me closer to that fighter, Ruby's in big trouble!"

"I'll try but we aren't as fast as those fighters," Yang said as she pushed the _Ember_ to her limits.

"I can divert more power to the engines, but it means we will be sacrificing our shields," Ren suggested cautiously.

"How bad is this guy Blake?" Yang asked

"He's the inquisitor who I trained with," Blake said, fear present in her voice. Yang gulped, flashes of the memories she saw in Blake came to mind.

"Ren, give us all the power you can."

The targeting computer's numbers ticked down, growing ever so close to zero. Another shot hit her ship, this time some of the energy pierced through he deflectors. Sparks and surges of electricity covered her cockpit, the various screens shutting down. Her targeting computer broke, leaving Ruby blind.

Yang watched as Ruby took a hit, desperately pushing the _Ember_ as hard as it would go. The deflector shields were offline, allowing the ship to inch closer to the two fighters. A stray shot here and there hit the unshielded freighter, alarms and warnings going off in the cockpit. "Blake take the shot!" Yang shouted, Blake focused, letting the force flow through her. She fired once, the red arrow of light slamming into Adam's shield. "Blake," Adam groaned bitterly as he felt her presence behind him, shooting at him. Blake fired again, another direct hit, this time destroying the advanced fighters shields and clipping the fighters wing, sending Adam hurtling off into space.

Ruby focused, determined to make the shot, even without the aid of computers. She could see the charred area of the hull where Nora had hit. Flicking her weapons over to torpedoes, Ruby lined up her shot, trusting in her pilot instincts to make the shot. She squeezed the trigger, pulling the stick up quickly as to not be burnt by the explosion.

The torpedo sunk into the hull, a jet of fire erupting from the breach in the hull. Weiss dodged the falling debris, the _Beacon_ falling apart around her. Very few systems remained operational, and only a single screen managed to stay on. Her eyes stayed glue to the screen, a sigh of relief escaping her as the energy readings in the _Blizzard_ spiked. "Direct hit! General we need to move out from under the ship now," Weiss speaking with happiness and exhaustion. Ozpin smiled, and the few officers still standing complied, the Mon Cal cruiser slowly escaping from the shadow of the star destroyer.

Above them explosions rang out over the hull of the _Blizzard_. Crackling electricity arced across the hull as the ship shut down. Ruby and Yang flew past the engines of the ship, soaring towards the wreck that was the barley functioning _Beacon_. Behind them the _Blizzard_ cracked, the hull breaking in two as the ship detonated, the bright flash marking the end of the capital ships career.

Ruby opened her cockpit, ripping her helmet free form her head. Around her ship amassed a crowd of people, techs, soldiers, and most important to Ruby, her fellow pilots. Sun, Neptune, Jaune and Nora had all been recovered. Stepping down from her fighter she was embraced tenderly by her sister, "Great shooting sis, and to think you did it without your computer! Haha, mum and dad would be proud!" Ruby hugged her sister back, laughing along with her,

"Thanks for having my back out there, you're not so bad a pilot yourself," Ruby complimented her sister. Yang shrugged, smile still firmly set on her face,

"Go off and enjoy your party you earned it."

Ruby walked through the crowd, receiving a series of cheers, friendly embraces and slaps on the shoulder. Finally she made it to her squadron, all standing proudly by Pyrrha's ship, the only one not severely damaged. "Nice flying out there, couldn't of done it better myself," Sun complimented, shaky Ruby's hand.

"More like couldn't of done it at all, that was amazing!" Jaune said excitedly from next to Pyrrha.

"That was the biggest boom I have ever seen!" Nora said, recreating the explosion with her arms. Ruby smiled,

"Thanks, but you guys were the ones who opened it up for me, without you we would have all be vaped."

The team shared a few more words of banter, all relived to still be alive. The others stopped, all looking to a figure standing behind Ruby. Ruby spun to see Weiss standing behind her, Rebel fleet officer uniform worn with pride. Ruby nodded a greeting, Weiss returning the nod.

The other pilots dispersed, leaving Ruby and Weiss alone. "I must congratulate you on your flying, it was exceptional."

"Uh, thanks, but this is the Rebel Alliance, no need to be so formal," Ruby said as she stepped forward and hugged Weiss. Weiss was stunned for a second before slowly returning the hug. "Welcome to the Rebel Alliance,"

"Thanks. General Ozpin is recommending me for my own command," Weiss said, still a little shocked by the hug.

"That's amazing," Ruby said as she broke the hug, "It will be a pleasure to fly beside you." Ruby gave Weiss a soft kiss on the cheek, causing the newly minted Rebel Captain to blush. Together the two followed the crowd of people leaving the hangar, all keen to celebrate while they could.

* * *

A few days passed by quickly, the whole fleet busily preparing to move on. With a lot of effort the techs had managed to fix the _Beacon's_ hyperdrive, the transport ships having now all been repaired as well. Ace squadrons fighters were still a mess, the techs unable to find spare wings and engines to refit the damaged crafts. The _Ember_ too had suffered serious damage, but the freighter had been through worse.

Blake had broken the news to Yang. Yang wanted to believe it wasn't true, that she could stay here with Ruby. Deep down though, Yang felt it too, she knew she had to leave. "Hey Ruby," Yang said, finding her sister in the empty mess hall once again.

"Hey Yang, what's wrong, you seem a bit down?"

"We have to talk," Yang said, sitting in the chair opposite to Ruby, Ruby set down her fork and ignored her meal, sensing the seriousness in Yang's voice. "It's time I left,"

"Oh, I thought you said you were thinking of staying after all," Ruby asked hopefully. Yang shook her head,

"I want too, you guys are fighting the good fight, and I wish I could help. It's not as strict as I thought, I could really do some good here."

"Exactly, so stay," Ruby pleaded softly. Yang sighed, sinking into the chair a little more.

"If Blake and I stay, we endanger everyone here. The Empire can track us down more easily than they can you, so we have to leave to keep everyone safe."

"I don't understand," Ruby said, frowning deeply. Yang nodded,

"I barely understand it myself, but there are greater things at work. Things that you don't have to worry about."

"Yang if you're in trouble then I do have to worry," Ruby said as she reached a hand over to grasp Yang's. Yang looked down sadly,

"The best thing you can do right now is work to defeat the Empire. I'll come back, I swear. When I do there will be nothing to worry about, we can be a family again." Yang reached down under the table and pulled forth her father's lightsaber, setting it on the table. "This is for you, it used to be dad's, something to remember us both by."

Ruby picked up the weapon curiously, "What is it?"

"Dad's lightsaber, an old weapon very powerful and very dangerous. Only use it when you have absolutely have too."

"Sure," Ruby said uncertainly as she clipped the saber to her belt, "are you sure you have to leave?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry Rubes, but as I said, I'll be back."

Blake loaded the last crate onto the _Ember_ as Yang came striding back into the hangar. Blake felt sorry for Yang, having to say goodbye to her sister a second time was not fair. Very little was in this galaxy.

"Everything go alright?" Blake asked hesitantly, Yang nodded, climbing the ramp to stand beside Blake.

"She'll be fine, she survived without me for a long time as it is."

"She has a good group of friends looking out for her," Blake added

"Even Weiss?" Yang teased, Blake rolled her eyes,

"I guess she is not as bad as her father, so yes, even Weiss." Yang grinned, closing the ramp and heading towards the cockpit,

"Where are we heading? We have the whole galaxy at our finger tips," Yang asked. Blake thought for a moment, mind thinking of all the planets she had visited.

"I'm not sure," Blake coming up blank on any secure planets. Yang smirked as she sat in the pilot seat, Blake taking the co-pilots seat beside her. "Well, guess we will have to trust in the force on this one."

The _Ember_ shot out of the hangar and into space. Ruby watched it leave, Weiss standing by her side as the freighter blasted into hyperspace. Taking Weiss' hand Ruby let out a sigh, "May the force be with you Yang."

* * *

 **Thank you all for reading! It has been an absolute joy to write, especially this mega chapter (easily the largest chapter I have uploaded to ). The question that lies ahead is whether or not you want to see more. I am fully prepared and eager to continue this story, but it is up to you the reader if you want to see Episode 2 of the RWBY Star Wars AU. It is also up to you if you want to see it in another story or for me to simply continue uploading chapters to this one. Anyway, enough questions, thanks for reading (again), and above all, May the force be with you.**


	7. Episode 2: A Daughters Revenge

**A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away**

 **STAR WARS RWBY**

 **EPISODE II**

 **A Daughters Revenge**

 **It is a dark time for the Rebellion. Fearing retribution for her defection from the Empire, WEISS SCHNEE and RUBY ROSE join the Rebels hiding on the ice planet of Hoth.**

 **Meanwhile, BLAKE BELLADONNA and YANG XIAO LONG seek refuge on the scarred planet of Menagerie.**

 **Arrayed against them, GRAND MOFF SCHNEE searched tirelessly for his disgraced daughter and the Imperial Inquisitorius hunt mercilessly for the escaped Inquisitor and force sensitive bounty hunter….**

The Ember sat nestled in between a dense, blackened forest on the face of Menagerie. The planet was a barren, laser scorched rock for the most part. Powerful storms rolled through the planet, delivering dangerous lightning and harsh winds. The Empire had turned the planet into a graveyard, the remnants of what once could have been lush countryside or a modern metropolis was reduced to dust.

Yang had found the remnants of a forest to hide the Ember in. The trees were bare, most of them baring scars of fire. Sitting in the shade of the ship Yang tried to meditate, something that should come so easily. The task was literally sitting and breathing, how hard could it be. While Blake was able to enter a force induced trance, enabling herself to be more connected to the force, Yang hadn't been able too.

For Yang, it was simply boring. She itched to move, to run through the dark forest. That was where Yang found peace, in the moment with her body focused on something, she could think clearly. With a groan Yang fell back onto the ground, staring up at the cloudy sky. It would rain soon, at least she had an excuse now for not meditating. Stretching her neck she pulled on her vest and belt that had been discarded for comfort.

The months of being on the run had kept both her and Blake busy, leaving little time for more Jedi training. Now though it appeared they had found a place that shielded them from the non-stop hunting of the Empire. Blake had said something about the planet sending echoes of pain in the force, strong enough to hide their own echoes. Yang still hadn't felt it, but she knew that she didn't want too. Being here, on Blake's home world caused her much pain, pain she had failed to hide.

Yang walked back inside the ship, finding Blake eating a meagre meal in the common area. "You won't be able to learn if you can't focus for more than a few minutes," Blake chided as she slurped her soup quietly. Yang rolled her eyes as walking over to the food station to get herself a drink.

"It's about to rain, would rather not be caught in one of those storms again," Yang replied as she searched for a clean cup.

"Excuses, excuses. Both in my Inquisitor training, and the holocron's lessons, fighting distractions is an excellent method of learning," Blake murmured between sips.

"What about you? I won't stop you if you feel like taking a stroll out in the storm," Yang said in retort, Blake shook her head with a smile,

"Once you master this Yang, it will all come more easily." Yang pursed her lips, annoyed with Blake's know it all attitude. She stared at the spoon sitting in Blake's bowl, taking a deep breath she tried to pull it towards her, the spoon only jittering slightly. Yang scowled, her irritation with her inability reaching a high point. In an instant the spoon leaped from the bowl, splattering a small splash of soup on Blake's face. Yang caught the spoon and smiled, Blake reverting to her usual monotone look of irritation.

"See, I think I have a good handle on things," Yang said confidently. Blake wiped her face and stood,

"Yang using your emotions like that is not the way to do it. Remember our fight, losing yourself to your anger, if you keep doing this it will be harder to regain control."

Yang watched as Blake walked back to her room, her head leaning back to rest against the wall behind her. Yang knew Blake was right, she had seen in Blake what happened if you let your emotions consume you. Yang was an emotional person, she didn't want to suppress what she felt all the time, but she couldn't let herself become what Blake had been. "Maybe the rain won't be so bad this time," Yang said to herself, unconvinced. Setting the cup back down Yang turned and stalked back outside, determined to try again.

* * *

I wager Valkyrie Ridge!" Nora cried as she held her cards close to her chest. Jaune stroked his chin, eyeing his cards carefully,

"Fine, I bet the Arc Plains."

The two players played their cards, the Sabacc table filling quickly. Jaune's head quickly hit the table in defeat, the cards immediately falling in Nora's favour. "Haha! I am Queen of this planet!" Nora bellowed as she stood triumphantly. Ren, Pyrrha, Sun and Neptune all laughed, watching the game as they all leant on the surrounding fighters. For the last few days the squadron had passed the time with Sabacc, betting their claimed lands instead of using real credits. Having done several sweeps of the planet, Ace Squadron had scouted out the surrounding landscape, laying meaningless claims to the land around them.

In the end, all of Hoth looked the same. Endless plains of ice, accented by snow covered mountains.

Ruby worked on her A-wing off to the side of the game, occasionally looking up to check on the progress. She had lost both Weiss Way and the Rose Hills early in the game, Nora turning out to be a surprisingly proficient card player. Weiss had refused to take part, instead spending more of her time with the other Rebel officers, all planning the future of the behind her Ruby heard the sound of a foot tapping against one of the metal panels laid out over the ice. Turning around Ruby looked up to see Weiss, wearing her thick, fur lined coat. "Hey there," Ruby said with a smile. Weiss looked down at her expectantly, Ruby only continuing to smile at the ever impatient Weiss. "Well?" Weiss said leaning closer to Ruby who stood to meet her eye to eye.

"Ugh, it's good to see you," Ruby said as she tried to puzzle out what Weiss wanted. Weiss rolled her eyes and pointed to her coat. Ruby looked down at the badge attached to right pocket of Weiss' jacket.

"Yeah, you're a Captain?" Ruby said with a puzzled look on her face. Weiss' hand slapped into her forehead, sighing with a sudden exhaustion.

"I told you I wouldn't wear it until I got a real command, a captain is not a captain without a ship."

"Wait, does that mean..." Ruby said with a growing smile, Weiss returned the expression,

"Yes I have finally been given a command, well, sort of." Ruby embraced Weiss tightly, the captain reluctantly returning the hug.

"Congratulations! It's about time they gave you a ship,"

"Well, not so much giving, as giving me permission to find."

"What does that mean?" Ruby laughed, Weiss waved a dismissal.

"It's not important now, seeing as neither of us can leave the planet. At least though, I now have a hypothetical ship."

"Better we are safe here than out getting hunted by more bounty hunters," Ruby said reaching down to grasp her father's lightsaber.

"You still haven't gotten that thing repaired," Weiss said regarding the damaged hilt hanging from Ruby's belt with a distasteful grimace. Ruby shrugged,

"Ren hasn't been able to figure out how to fix it yet, the bounty hunter on Cato Neimoidia really did a number on it."

"Well I rather that weapon get hit rather then you," Weiss commented. Ruby grinned, leaning in to peck her on the cheek,

"Love you too," Ruby said jokingly.

* * *

Grand Moff Schnee sat in his captain's chair aboard his Imperial Class star destroyer. His mechanical hand tapped away on his arm rest, his impatience building as he waited for another one of the Emperors tools. The pneumatic hiss of the bridge door marked the arrival of the Inquisitor. The Grand Moss spun his chair slowly, a frown set firmly on his face. "My Lord," the slender, black clad woman said as she bowed. "Inquisitor Cinder, what is it you want. I doubt you came here just to exchange pleasantries."

Cinder nodded, a disturbingly serene look on her face. "I have come to find your daughter," Cinder speaking as though she were doing the Moff a great service. Schnee laughed,

"You Inquisitors have already failed to do that. Your reliance on that misguided religion is sad, and a thorough waste of my time," with that the Grand Moff turned back to look out over the bridge. Cinder's serene expression turned dark, her eyes glaring at the back of the Moff's chair.

"You misunderstand me, I am not here to assist you. I am taking command of the search, she mayb have connections to another traitor."

Schnee clenched his mechanical fist, the black glove straining. "I think not," The Moff siad through gritted teeth. Cinder strolled up beside him, seductive smile on her face. Tracing his jawline softly Cinder whispered,

"I am afraid this is a direct order form the Emperor himself. Now, set a course for the Imperial fleet, Lord Vader is said to have found the Rebel base, where your daughter is no doubt hiding."

* * *

"Ruby," Ren's calm voice carrying down the hall. Ruby stopped just before her room, turning to see Ren walking towards her,

"Ren, what can I do for you?"

"I think I may have fixed your weapon," Ren said as he handed over the lightsaber. Ruby had given him another shot at fixing it, and hadn't expected him to be back so soon.

"Thanks, that was pretty quick," Ruby said as she turned over the hilt in her hands. Ren nodded,

"It's an old piece of technology, very complex. There is an issue however,"

"There always is," Ruby said as she clipped it back on her belt. Ren smiled,

"It seems to need a crystal to focus the energy beam, the one that was in there was shattered by the blaster bolt."

"Well I will keep on the lookout for one." Ren let out a chuckle and gave a mock salute as he turned and left. Ruby keyed the door open and stepped into her small room. Hopping onto the uncomfortable bunk that served as her bed. In her hands she held her father's lightsaber, studying it as she often did. What little research she had been able to do had turned up little new information. Her father had likely been a Jedi, some ancient warrior destroyed by the Empire. What that meant for Ruby, she didn't know. At the very least she was comforted by the fact that her father would have been proud that she was fighting the Empire.

The door to her room opened again, Weiss stepping inside. With a sigh of relief she shed her jacket, turning up the room's heater slightly. Sinking down in the rooms second bunk Weiss shut her eyes. "Another tough meeting?" Ruby asked, Weiss nodded as her hands rubbed her temples.

"We are in a very bad spot, it is only a matter of time before the Empire finds this place, and we don't have a solid backup plan."

"We'll figure it out, we always have," Ruby said optimistically, her gaze now focusing on Weiss. Weiss returned the look,

"You haven't had a negative thought in your life have you?"

"Gotta stay positive," Ruby said with a beaming smile. Weiss grinned, but only for a moment. Her face fell back into its usual pout,

"You would think with this being a cold climate planet htye would have two person bunks."

"Why?" Ruby asked quizzically. Weiss rolled her eyes,

"Body heat you dunce," Weiss said teasingly, causing Ruby to blush. "So what was wrong with that thing?" Weiss asked as she studied the hilt, eye twitching as she remembered Adam's saber. The Rebel's had managed to repair the damage to the eye, returning its sight, but Weiss had chosen to keep the scar. "Ren said it needs a new crystal,"

"A crystal? That seems rather primitive," Weiss said with a frown. Ruby nodded idly, eyes focused on the hilt as she slowly took it apart. Weiss laid back and shut her eyes again, Ruby absorbed by her interest in the weapon. Weiss had helped investigate the origin of the weapon when she had free time, a favour to Ruby. Her Imperial education had only touched of the Jedi very briefly, simply referencing them as traitors.

A thought quickly passed through Weiss' mind. Reaching under her bunk she pulled out the small bag that contained all her possessions. Most of it was stuff picked up during her time with the Rebellion, souvenirs of her short time fighting the Empire. The few things she had brought from her old life ended up at the bottom of the bag, discarded more easily than the memories of what she had done. She found the necklace tucked into her old imperial jacket. The simple silver chain ended with a single light blue gem, a prize her father had given her after his conquest of Menagerie. "Try this," Weiss said as she tossed the necklace to Ruby, who only just managed to catch it in time. "Your necklace? But it's so pretty,"

"I wasn't going to wear it anytime soon," Weiss said dismissively. Ruby hesitated, but eventually broke the crystal off the necklace. While the wiring and some of the finer components were too complex for Ruby, who was used to fixing her ship, the general design was easy enough to comprehend. With a click the crystal slotted into the now exposed chamber. Reassembling the lightsaber Ruby stood, holding it away from her body. With a click of the activation button a thin silvery blue blade sprung from the hilt. "It works!" Ruby cheered triumphantly, turning to look at Weiss reaction.

Weiss simply nodded, making sure she was as far away as possible from the blade. Ruby shut off the blade, happily falling back into her bunk. With that the two decided to grab some sleep, something that they had been lucky enough to enjoy plenty of due to the boredom of their current assignment.

A loud beeping awoke the pair a few hours into their rest. Ruby groaned and rolled away from the noise, wrapping her blanket more tightly around herself. Weiss blinked away her drowsiness, reaching for the comlink sitting on the table next to her bunk. "This is Captain Schnee," Weiss said groggily.

"Captain Schnee, this is General Rieekan, report to the command centre immediately," The authoritative voice of General Rieekan ordered.

"Yes sir," Weiss said as she threw the covers off herself and grabbed her coat. "Ruby, wake up, this might be serious,"

"What?" Ruby said with eyes half open, blanket still pulled firmly over her body. Weiss rolled her eyes,

"Ruby I have a bad feeling about this, get your fighters ready, trust me."

"Fine," Ruby said with a groan as she quickly grabbed her flight gear.

* * *

Weiss stepped out of the command centre, a stream of people following her out, all running off to prepare. The Empire had found them. A probe droid had gotten luck and now the Imperial fleet would be bearing down upon them in a time frame predicted to be a few hours. Weiss had been given command of a transport ship, her mission was to rendezvous with the one of the several Rebel fleets currently hiding beyond the Outer Rim. A few ships form the fleet had been called in to hold off the Imperials while the Echo Base evacuated, but with what little defences they had, Weiss predicted a slaughter.

* * *

"All troop carriers will assemble at the north entrance. The heavy transport ships will leave as soon as their loaded, only two fighter escorts per ship. The energy shield can only be opened for a short time, so you will have to stay very close to your transports," Princess Leia said as she walked in the middle of the group of fighter pilots. "Two fighters against a star destroyer?" A pilot said unconvinced of the plan.

"The Ion cannon will fire several shots to make sure that any enemy ships are out of your flight path. When you have gotten past the energy shield, proceed directly to the rendezvous point, Understood?" The princess asked with a clam and steady voice.

"Yeah," replied several of the pilots, Sun speaking up the loudest from beside Ruby.

"Good luck," Leia said before leaving the pilots to disperse to their ships. Ruby broke off with her squadron in tow, heading towards their fighters.

"You heard her, we are splitting off into groups of two for now. Sun your with Neptune, Jaune your with Pyrrha, Nora your with me," Ruby ordered, Nora giving an enthusiastic salute as she matched pace with Ruby. At the southern entrance, where Ace Squadrons fighters were held, Ruby saw Weiss ordering the various personnel and equipment into her transport.

"Good, you're finally here, I want to be able to leave as soon as we are cleared."

"My fighters will be ready," Ruby said confidently. Weiss continued her ordering, her checking of the supplies. Ruby waited patiently until Weiss took notice that she was still there, Weiss turned for a second and noticed her,

"What is it?"

"Just wanted to say good luck, and be careful out there," Ruby said as clasped Weiss' hand. Weiss sighed,

"You too."

Ruby headed to her fighter, jumping up and into the cockpit, waiting for the order to fly. "The first transport is away," a voice echoed through the busy evacuation. Cheers sprang up everywhere, only stopping the evacuation for a second. Ruby ran through a check of her combat systems, hoping the Ion cannons fire would mean she didn't have to use any. "This is General Rieekan, transports will be leaving two at a time, transport three and four prepare to fly out," the Generals voice coming through Ruby's ship. After another fifteen minutes of waiting, the slow rumbling of the coming Imperial walkers being constant, Weiss received the order to fly.

"Ace One," Weiss now calling Ruby by her call sign, "Transport Ten and Eleven are leaving now, follow us out."

"Copy Transport Ten, Ace Six with me, Two and Three with Transport Eleven" Ruby giving Nora the thumbs up as they both started their engines. Lifting off the ice covered floor the four fighters flew out of the base behind the slow moving transports. Shooting out over the white landscape Ruby could see the Imperial walkers moving closer to the base, her scanners picking up Rogue Squadrons airspeeders trying to slow the hulking metal behemoths. She was more than happy that Ace Squadron hadn't been sent on that suicide mission, but at least they had the best down there. Ruby's scanners picked up a group of TIE fighters flying just above the energy shield. "Transport Ten I'm picking up a group of eyeballs,"

"Copy Ace One, keep them off us, these transports don't have enough firepower to hold them all off."

"Ace Two, Three, stay with the transports. Six we are dealing with the eyeballs," Ruby pulling her fighter ahead of the transports. Sticking close enough so that they made it through the gap in the shield, Ruby marked the three TIE fighters. Slipping through the atmosphere Ruby and Nora broke away from the group, heading on a direct intercept course for the enemy fighters. Ruby fired early, her shots having little chance of hitting the TIE's, but at least it would draw attention away from the transports. As she had predicted, the TIE's fired back, now both parties being in range. Ruby juked out of the lines of fire, Nora's slower ship not managing to dodge all the fire, but her deflectors held. The Ruby vaporised one with a quick twin linked shot through the cockpit, Nora blasting away the other two, reducing them to nothing but dust.

"All clear, returning to the convoy," Ruby report as she swung her A-wing back towards the transports. In front of the small group of ships a star destroyer materialized from hyperspace. Just as quickly as it had appeared, several colourful blasts of ion energy shot from the planet below.

Weiss watched with horror as the star destroyer got closer. Looking over the hull of the grey ship she noticed the twelve pointed snowflake painted in white alongside the Imperial crest. The ion bolts sparked just before hitting the star destroyer, hitting something else floating in space. Weiss' eyes widened, "Move away from that destroyer now, the ion cannon missed," Weiss shouted to the pilot.

"Yes ma'am," the pilot said with equally wide eyes. Her father had used shuttles to intercept the ion bolts, he probably had several readouts of the trajectory of the shots after the other star destroyers had been hit. It was genius, and like always, her father had thought of it just before she had.

"Ace One, the ion cannon missed, follow us away from the star destroyer,"

"Sure thing," Ruby said with a worried tone. Weiss quickly sent out a message to Echo base,

"This is Transport Ten, the ion attack missed, beware sector three-seven the star destroyer is still active,"

"Understood Transport Ten, my ship is on the way." The cool collected voice caused Weiss' eyes to grow even wider,

"General Ozpin!"

"The _Beacon_ is standing by to assist," he said with his usual composure. From Weiss' right another ship flew into visual range, this time the familiar sight of the Mon Calamari cruiser _Beacon_ its red turbo lasers firing. The transport convoy banked towards the friendly cruiser, the pilots trying calculating new hyperspace co-ordinates.

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief as they flew past the _Beacon._ Behind her the star destroyer opened fire, battering at the Rebel cruisers front shields. "Ace One we are having trouble calculating a new jump, continue on our current course away from the star destroyer and slave your hyperspace controls to my ships."

"Sure thing," Ruby said causally as she flew up alongside Weiss' ship. Weiss tracked the battle that was happening behind them as best she could, her scanners slowly falling out of range of her father's ship. Suddenly the _Beacon's_ systems went critical, the image of the ship on the small display growing red. "What?" Weiss said, surprised at the sudden damage Ozpin had taken.

* * *

Ozpin held the armrests of his chair tightly as the missile hit the hull of his ship. The explosion tore away most of the front hull, the white and blue explosion causing him to squint. "Sir! We just lost life support system!"

"General! The weapons are down!"

"We just lost the engines!"

The cries of his crew quickly informed him that the ship was lost. The single missile, something that there scanners had not been able to identify as any type of know missile, had shattered his ship. Standing confidently in the face of defeat General Ozpin spoke, "Evacuate the ship, it is lost. Record the scans of that missile, we need to discover what it was."

* * *

"Weiss!" Ruby said with shock as she turned her ship around to see the devastation. The _Beacon_ was dead in space, pieces slowly falling away as escape pods shot in every direction away from the now derelict craft. Weiss stared in horror at the reports,

"Ruby, return to formation, we need to leave."

"But the General," Ruby said quietly, in defeat.

"Nothing we can do Ruby, if we had a bigger ship," Weiss said with anger, the image of her father's smile imprinted in her mind.

"Captain we are getting a message," the transports pilot said as the image of General Ozpin came onto the display.

"Captain Weiss, take these scans, they are of the weapon that hit my ship," Ozpin said uncharacteristically quickly.

"General, I-"

"There is not time Captain, they have a tractor beam on my escape pod. Find out what that weapon is and stop i-" Ozpin was cut off abruptly, his image turning to static.

"Captain the star destroyer is moving after us again, we need to jump to hyperspace."

"Then do it pilot," Weiss said as she rested her fist against the screen.

"We can't make it too the rendezvous from this position," the pilot said with frustration. Weiss pursed her lips, anger quickly rising.

"Fine then," Weiss said as she pushed aside the pilot, entering in her own co-ordinates. "There you go, now get us out of here," Weiss said as she moved back to her station. "Ruby we're not going to the rendezvous, prepare to jump,"

"Weiss we need to get Ozpin!" Ruby shouted, gripping her controls fiercely, trying her hardest to not to fly straight at the star destroyer.

"I wish we could, but that's my father, we wouldn't last a minute."

Ruby held back her tears, one hand falling away from the flight stick. "Ace's, we are leaving… Prepare to jump,"

"What about Ozpin, we can't leave him," Nora said sadly.

"It's Ozpin Ruby," Sun pleaded.

"I know… But we can't win this one," Ruby said quietly, the comms becoming silent as the four fighters reluctantly formed up for the jump.

* * *

Several hours later the convoy emerged form hyperspace, everyone quiet, thinking about Hoth. Weiss had barely moved from her chair, her mind busy thinking of her father. She doubted he would kill Ozpin, the General had the potential to reveal a lot about the Rebellion. Her father would however kill him eventually. Then he would return to searching for her.

"Captain, we are here," the pilot said slightly confused as to where exactly they were. Weiss broke out of her pondering, looking out in the graveyard.

"Weiss, what is this place?" Ruby asked,

"The sight of an old naval battle of the Clone Wars, now it's used as a dumping ground for the Imperials. I learnt about this place a long time ago, at the academy. I told high command about it, but we didn't have time to come and salvage anything."

"Good thing we brought a salvage team with us," Neptune added sarcastically. Weiss smiled as debris drifted apart to reveal her prize. Sitting in the mess of scrap metal and half destroyed ships, sat a nearly fully intact Venator class star destroyer.

The four fighter pilots eyed the battleship immediately, almost preparing to attack the unidentified vessel. When they saw it was dead they all figured why Weiss had brought them here. "We will get that ship up and running, then we are going after my father. We will return to the fleet with General Ozpin and an operational battleship."

Determined smiles sprouted on everyone's faces. The convoy floated through the graveyard of ships, marking possible pieces that could be used to rebuild the Venator. Weiss took a deep breath as her transport glided over the old warship. The imperials had discarded most of them; the ones they kept were mostly used for training purposes. Its firepower was only slightly less than that of an Imperial class star destroyer, its design also left several areas exposed and weakened in contrast to the newer model. Weiss didn't know if it would be enough to take on her father, and whatever new weapon he had created. She did however, trust in her friends, trusted Ruby. Together they would rescue Ozpin, or die trying.

* * *

 **WE ARE BACK! Turns out it was not that long of a break. I blame all of you wonderful people and my love for Star Wars for that, so thanks guys and gals. Episode 2 is going to be bigger and better and I cannot wait to show you guys more. For those who are worried about shipping (either for or against it) there will be romance in this story, it's not going to have fluff chapters or long fluffy moments, but this is Star Wars, there is always a little romance. Anyway, it is a pleasure to write for you, so look forward to...**

 **NEXT TIME: The training of a Jedi! And Weiss' first Rebellion command!**


	8. Part 6

Yang and Blake sat underneath the hull of the ship, shielding themselves form the rain. Neither of them dared look at each other, the feelings of guilt and frustration were too strong to ignore. No matter how hard Yang tried, she couldn't feel the force the way Blake did. Blake had guided her through another meditation, trying to expand her connection to the force. Yang had managed only what she had back when she had first met Blake. She could send her mind outwards, only in a small area, and only with extreme concentration, something that was becoming less and less easy to achieve.

"Maybe we should try again, you were so close, you almost cleared your mind completely" Blake said encouragingly. Yang shrugged her off,

"I'm done for today,"

"But we only just started," Blake pleaded. Yang shook her head running a hand through her blonde hair, "I don't think I'm cut out for this."

"Yang, you can do this," Blake said adamantly. Yang walked into the rain closing her eyes as she let the rain cascade down her face.

"I'm going for a walk,"

"Yang you can't keep walking away from this!" Blake shouted, suddenly snapping. Yang turned in surprise, only now fully taking in Blake's appearance. Her pale complexion, the bags under her eyes, she looked exhausted. "Blake-"

"No! Shut up! I have had enough, I'm trying to help you. I don't want to be here, I don't even want to think about this place! I can barely sleep, I can barely think." Blake's eyes welled with tears, her anger fading quickly to sadness and fatigue. Yang stepped back under the ship, moving to hold her. Blake pulled away, "No, go for your walk."

"I don't want to be here either Blake,"

"Yeah well if we want to hide from the Empire we either have to stay or split up. It would be harder to find us if we weren't together," Blake said, unable to look Yang in the eye.

"If we split up then you can't help train me," Yang countered. Blake shook her head slowly,

"Do you even want to be trained?" With that Blake left, heading back inside the ship. Yang cursed, hitting herself in the forehead. She didn't know if she wanted to learn any more either. For a long time she had ignored her powers, left them dormant. Sure when she unleashed them against Blake on Tatooine she had lost control, but she could almost believe she forget about her powers again. She could bury it all if she truly wanted. Though Yang knew that to forget, to ignore, would cost her Blake. Yang wasn't sure if she wanted to let her friend go.

So Yang marched off into the rain, stomping through the dead forest intent on not thinking about her problems. She picked up the pace slowly, jogging through the remains of the planet. The uneven ground forced her to mind her footing, the heavy rain pelting down did not help her vision. She ended up tripping several times, fallen branches, the broken ground making her run difficult. She bounded over fallen trees, ducked under low hanging branches and slid down small inclines. Soon she got into a rhythm, a pattern, and no longer had trouble moving through the blackened trees. Her body became numb, the cold rain chilling her to the core; she imagined if she had known her real mother she would have said something about catching a cold.

Yang ignored the cold, ignored the scrapes on her knees and arms. For the most part she ignored the world around her, trusting her body, her reflexes to get her through the obstacle course she had created in her mind.

The Forest got denser as Yang ran. The trees grew larger, still blackened, but somewhat more lifelike. The ground too became less rocky, now a sludgy grey mud. Yang slipped down a slope, mud splashing up over her. Grunting she picked herself up, taking in her new surroundings. The bottom of the slope seemed to be a small clearing in the forest, not as large as the one where the _Ember_ was, but large enough for several people to stand. Well, where it not for the large opaque pool of water sitting in the middle of the clearing.

Yang brushed herself off to leave, but was distracted for a moment by the pool. Staring into the pool Yang looked at her own reflection. She looked a proper mess, mud stained clothes, twigs in her hair tiny cuts on her arms.

She could never be a Jedi. She didn't want to defend the galaxy against evil, she just wanted to protect the people she cared about. She didn't want to repress her feelings, she wanted to feel love and happiness more than anything. Yang slumped down at the edge of the pool, the rain slowing and turning into a steady drip. "I can't do this," Yang groaned, her head falling into her hands.

"Thought I told you that you could do anything," A familiar voice said, startling Yang. From the other side of the pool strode a glowing figure.

"Who are you?" Yang said as she cautiously backed away. Stepping into the dim light Yang could see the ghostly figure clearly now. "Dad?"

"Hey honey," Taiyang said with a warm smile.

"How? What? I saw you die?" Yang said utterly confused as to her father's appearance. Taiyang sat down on one of the rocks on the othersider of the pool.

"Yes, you did, sorry about that," Taiyang said with a solemn look, "But at least we get to talk one last time."

"One last time? What do you mean, you're here now... I think,"

"I can't stay, but while I am here, I want you to know I love you."

"Dad," Yang whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek. Taiyang shook his head,

"We don't have time for a proper teary family reunion, as much as I would like that. I'm here because you need help." Yang sat back down, head falling to her hand.

"This is a Jedi thing isn't it," Yang asked, Taiyang smiled and nodded. Yang sighed, "I can't do it Dad, I'm not a Jedi, I don't think I can ever be one."

"Hey, it's your choice kiddo, you don't have to be a Jedi." Yang looked taken aback,

"So I just let myself become… Like the Inquisitors,"

"I'm not saying that, I'm saying it doesn't have to be one or the other."

"So I ignore my powers then? Leave Blake behind?" Yang looked at her father, her eyes pleading with him to give her the answer.

"Yang let me tell you a story. I trained to be a Jedi, back before the Empire. I had the same difficulties you're having, never truly got past them. Not until I left the order, and fell in love with your Mother. Us Xiao Long's walk a fine line, it's easy to feel anger, hate, despair when you love someone. Sometimes they get hurt, are in danger, and those feelings just happen." Taiyang stood slowly, walking around the edge of the pool towards Yang. "We are emotional people, more so than most. For us, to ignore our feelings means we have to ignore everything. That includes the force."

"But if I let my emotions take control of me… I have seen what happens,"

"You have seen what fear and anger does. Love, friendship, happiness are what connects us to the universe, what connects us to the force." Taiyang sat down next to Yang, his ghostly figure partially see through now that he was so close. "Close your eyes," Taiyang ordered, taking up a mediative posture next to Yang. Yang sighed, closing her eyes and copying his posture. "Feel the force, like you have before. Slow your breathing, concentrate."

Yang did as she was told, feeling the flow of the force as she had several times before. Like before though, it seemed distant, like a stream of cold water swirling around her but not touching her. "Think of Ruby, remember why you searched so hard for her."

Yang thought back to her years of searching. The hundreds of bounties she took to pay for her information, the smuggling she did to help find contacts in the criminal underworld. She remembered the feeling of longing to find the little sister that needed protecting. Then she had found her, and for the first time in years, had felt complete. "Think of Blake," her father whispered. Yang took another deep breath, thinking of the quiet, caring girl she had travelled with.

The months spent running. She had learnt a lot about Blake in that time, and Blake had learnt a lot about her. Blake wanted to do good, wanted to help people who couldn't help themselves. The various urchins, slaves and other disadvantaged beings that Blake had gone out of her way to assist, even risked her life to help. All proved that Blake truly had forsaken her past and that she wanted to make amends. She always tried to find the peaceful solution, but also wasn't afraid to fight for what was right. She was real Jedi material, a contrast to Yang.

Yang remembered the laughs they had shared, the hard times and the easy. It had been an adventure, one that had brought them closer. "Now Yang, push through, push through for your friends, for those you love."

Yang's breath caught, gasping as the cold stream washed over her. She opened her eyes, seeing the world in a new light. The dim colours of the forest seemed sharper, she could feel each drop of rain fall onto the earth around her. Deep down she felt life beginning to emerge on the planet, single blades of green poking through the desolate surface of the planet. She felt the pain that still lingered, the pain that kept Blake up at night. "Reach out, pull that rock over the pond," Her father's now ghostly voice echoing in her mind. Yang raised a hand, stretching it out towards the rock her father had sat on. Directing the flow of the cold stream that she envisioned as the force she lifted the stone, slowly and carefully. Hovering just above the water the grey stone moved towards her. The dark pool felt alive with memories and feelings of the people she cared about, memories she dared not disrupt with the stone.

The rock sunk into the earth in front of her. Yang panted, eyes wide as she stared at the stone she had pulled over the water. "I can't believe I did it,"

"Yet you did, when you are at peace, like you are when you are with those you love, that is when you can truly do anything." Yang looked around for her father's ghostly image,

"Dad? Where are you, I still have so many questions." The image of her father appeared again, even more faded than before. "How do I stay in control? What if I lose them?" Her father looked sad, eyes glazing over with memory.

"When I lost your mother… It was a dark time for me, but you have to remember that there is always hope, I lost Raven, but I had you. Then I met Summer, and had Ruby. Keep moving forward Yang…." Taiyang faded away, leaving Yang alone by the pool.

* * *

The white Imperial shuttle landed softly on the floor of the star destroyer's main hangar bay. Emerging from the shuttle, Grand Moff Schnee was irritated to see more Inquisitors standing beside Cinder. "I trust your meeting with Lord Vader was enlightening?" Cinder asked with a smugness that further eroded The Grand Moff's patience. "Yes, it seems your mission, and mine have been given special priority. For the moment you are indeed necessary and to be afforded the use of my vessel," Schnee said bitterly.

He regarded the other Inquisitors with a sideways glance as the joined him in his walk towards the bridge. "Inquisitor Taurus? Surprising to see you here, I had thought you would have been dealt with by now," Schnee smiled as Adam snarled. Cinder glared at her subordinate, forcing him to back down. The other Inquisitor remained silent, though very small of stature, there was something deeply unsettling about her. "What of the weapon you used against the Rebel's? I was unaware the Emperor had assigned you the creation of such a weapon," Cinder enquired curiously. Schnee held his smile,

"That is because it is of the need for secrecy. Now the weapon is ready to be mass produced it no longer matters, yet its construction has earned me considerable liberties."

"Very impressive," Cinder said slyly as she studied the Moff. A squad of stormtroopers fell in behind the four Imperials as they headed towards the detention centre.

"Have you made any progress with the prisoners?"

"We have sorted through the low ranking officers, they knew nothing of importance," Cinder said softly, remembering the screams of the now dead Rebels.

"What of the general?" The Grand Moff asked, turning to look directly at Cinder.

"He is strong willed, but will soon break,"

"Good, we will find the rest of these pitiful Rebels, crush them, and find my daughter."

* * *

Yang burst into Blake's room, tracking mud behind her. Blake sat up in her bed, sheets falling around her, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Yang said as she strode forwards, embracing Blake in a tight hug. Blake flinched as she felt Yang's rain soaked clothes against hers.

"Yang, what is it," Blake mumbled through Yang's hug.

"I understand Blake,"

"Understand what? Are you okay, did you hit your head or something?" Blake said with a concerned look. Yang smiled,

"I need to show you something, and no I didn't hit my head."

Leading her by the hand, Yang dragged Blake out of the ship. Splashing through the puddles and mud Blake grew impatient, "Where are we going?"

"Just a little place I found while I was out walking, met an old friend," Yang said without looking back, but Blake could sense her smile.

"Yang there is no one else on this planet, you sure you didn't hit your head?"

"Still sure," Yang said as she turned back to flash Blake her smile, "Here we are." Yang gestured outwards to the small pool sitting still below. Blake raised an eyebrow in question as she examined the pool.

"So what? It's just another hole with water in it,"

"Wow, someone's cranky, I think that someone needs a nap," Yang said imitating an overly caring mother. Blake crossed her arms and turned away,

"Well maybe someone shouldn't burst into my room covered in mud," Blake said as she eyed Yang intently.

"Blake, I saw my father, not in a dream or because I was drunk or anything like that. It was him, and he helped me understand things," Yang said as she looked longingly into the distance.

"You still haven't told me what you understand," Blake said, continuing to stare suspiciously at Yang. Yang raised her hand and closed her eyes, in an instant Blake felt her touch the force, and pull a large stick into her hands. Opening her eyes Yang stared into Blake's,

"Dad showed me how to do it. I'm not a Jedi Blake, never will be, but I will learn to use the force, and I will use it to help the people I love." Yang sighed, pacing closer towards the pool, "I felt the scars this planet has, I know why you can't sleep. There is something else though,"

"Yang, emotional bonds are a risk, the holocron says that it opens yourself to the darkside. I know what it's like to lose friends, it pushes you to do things, horrible things," Blake cast her eyes away from Yang in shame.

"Screw the holocron, didn't help the Jedi survive the Empire, and I doubt it will save us. Please just sit, meditate, trust me," Yang held out her hand, helping Blake down tot he edge of the pool. Together they sat, both meditating in their own way. Blake emptied her mind, focusing on calming herself. Yang thought about those she cared about, relaxing as she could around them. Blake felt the rush of sadness quicker this time, the images of the final days of her planet flooding back to her. She felt Yang's hand clasp her shoulder, forcing her to realise she had been shaking. The visions stopped and she could once again sense her surroundings. She felt the emptiness that haunted the planet, but also something new. A tiny speck of life tunnelled its way through the ash, a spark of hope. Blake dug deeper, searched for more, desperate to see her planet return to its natural state. Instead of life though, Blake felt fear. She felt the fear, the pity of other beings. "Yang, there are other people on the planet... Other Faunus!" Blake exclaimed, jumping to her feet, Yang having to chase after her,

"Blake wait! That's not what I was talking about... but... whatever!" Yang cried, being ignored. Blake raced towards the life she sensed, the feelings growing stronger. What if they had been trapped here after the attack, what if they were survivors trying to rebuild or survivors who had come to remember. She felt others too as she got closer, non Faunus, more human. Blake came to a sudden halt, Yang slamming into her back, the two almost falling over. In front of them they saw a makeshift landing pad, a pair of TIE fighters resting on top of it. Beside the landing pad was what appeared to be the beginning of a crater that went deep into the earth. "This isn't good," Yang whispered from behind Blake.

* * *

The bridge look almost identical to that of an Imperial star destroyer. Darker, because of the lack of power and dustier because of the lack of activity, but otherwise the similarity was jarring. Weiss had been on a Venator before, back in the academy. In fact she had spent years on bridges just like this, she couldn't remember a period of more than a month before joining the Rebellion that she hadn't spent at least an hour a day on a bridge. "Wow, everything looks like it's in pretty good condition," Ruby commented from beside Weiss. Both stood in bulky space suits, glow rods attached to their hips.

"The ship as a whole is in surprisingly good condition. Ren said the area that will need the most work is the engine, even those though only need minor repairs."

"The Empire really just threw this away?" Ruby said with surprise,

"They have the luxury to throw out things like this. They thought they had the luxury to throw me out as well," Weiss said bitterly.

"That will make it all the sweeter when we use it to beat them,"

"Yeah, it will." Weiss said obviously distracted as she studied the controls on the bridge. Her hands traced lines in the dust that had gathered over the screens. "It's not enough," Weiss murmured eyes unfocused on what was in front of her, distracted.

"What?" Ruby asked from the other side of the room. Weiss turned to her, now focusing on what was around her,

"It's not enough Ruby,"

"Weiss, this is a battleship, with a little work we are going to be able to fight your father, and rescue Ozpin."

"I-I don't know, it's just-"

"Stop Weiss, your over thinking things. Focus on what we are doing now, we don't have the time to worry about the future. Focus on what we can do now."

Weiss kept quiet, trying to cast the thoughts of her father out of her head. In her mind she crunched the numbers, her guns against her fathers. "Weiss," Ruby said waving a hand in front of Weiss' visor. Weiss jumped, returning her focus to the bridge,

"Sorry, just overthinking things,"

Ruby just smiled, turning back to examining the bridge. "Will your fighters be ready for the fight?"

"You know they will be, wish we had Jaune and Pyrrha with us, but we will be ready."

"You think they made it off of Hoth?" Weiss' question cause Ruby to freeze,

"They made it off. They're Ace's just like me, they got away."

The lights suddenly went on, hundreds of red, blue and white keys lighting up. Panels running along the roof also lit, illuminating the bridge. "Looks like Ren and Nora got the reactor up and running, time to get to work," Weiss said as she sat in one of the seats, starting up the console.

* * *

Blake crept up to the ridge of the mine. Yang crawled beside her, double barrelled blaster in hand. The mine looked quite simply like a giant hole in the ground. The bottom of the hole was hidden by darkness, giving Blake an idea of just how deep it went. Spiralling around the outer edge of the pit was a long metal walkway. Built into the rock along the walkway were a series of doors, probably leading to living quarters. On several of the walkways sat large machines that held cables leading down into the darkness in place. Patrolling the upper levels of the mine was a pair of Stormtroopers, clad in their usual white armour. "Reminds me of the time I visited the spice mines of Kessel," Yang whispered. Blake only glared at the slow walking troopers, disgusted by yet another violation of her planet, and her people. "How are we doing this? Are we sneaking in or doing it the old fashioned Yang way?" Yang asked with a confident smile, Blake returned the smile, determined to free her people. "Follow me," Blake said as she slipped over the edge of the cliff, dropping onto an outcropping just above the first walkway. Yang landed beside her, both staying motionless for a moment to make sure they hadn't alerted the patrol. Underneath them the first group of stormtroopers stopped for a moment, lazily watching for any escaped prisoners, not suspecting anyone to come from outside the mine.

Blake motioned for Yang to stay, unclipping both of her lightsabers. Crouching at the edge of the outcropping Blake waited for the Stormtroopers to continue their patrol. A second later the white helmets came into view, the pair of troopers still focused on the mine below. Blake stepped off the ledge, activating her blades as she fell behind the guards. The blades passing freely through their armour, felling both without a sound.

Yang once again fell behind Blake, admiring her handiwork as she moved beside her. Yang raised her eyebrow questioningly, Blake busy searching for any signs of other Faunus, or other guards. Both of them jumped when they heard a loud mechanical groan. When nothing shot them they dared looked down into the hole. From the darkness emerged a platform, a group of Faunus huddling in the centre of it while troopers ferried them onto one of the walkways, shoving them towards one of the lower doors. Blake rushed to the edge of the walkway, trying to get a closer look. "There are so many," Blake said in a whisper, Yang only just catching it.

"Then let's get them out," Yang whispered back, grip tightening on her blaster.

One of the dead troopers comlinks buzzed, "Trooper TK-Five-three-two?" Neither Blake nor Yang had time to respond before one of the troopers on the platform looked up to see both of them. "Intruders!" One of the troopers below called, raising his blaster to fire. Yang pulled Blake back as several crimson bolts slammed into the railing in front of them. "Ah, the good old fashioned Yang entrance!" Yang shouted over the blaster fire as she ran down the walkway, "I'll distract them, get the prisoners!" She cried to Blake as she leaned over the walkway and returned fire down at the platform.

Blake looked for a faster way down than running on the walkways. Spying one of the pulley machines that lifted and lowered the platform Blake deactivated one of her sabers. Hopping onto the thin railing Blake grabbed the thick wire, ducking to avoid a blaster shot form below. With a firm grip Blake slid down the cable, using her free hand wave her other saber, deflecting blaster shots that came too close.

Yang rounded another bend in the walkway, now having descended three levels. Around seventy or so of feet below her, in the centre of the hole, the Stormtroopers took up position on the platform. The guards sprayed scarlet laser fire around Yang, her erratic movements only just keeping her from getting hit. "Yeah that's right bucket heads! I'm right here!" Yang taunted, managing to fire a shot back. The twin bolts of energy taking one of the troopers in the chest, throwing him back and over the edge of the platform into the darkness below.

Blake zipped down the cable, jumping off onto one of the lowest levels of the walkway. Most of the guards were focused on Yang, attention grabbing being one of her better talents. Blake moved towards the large door where the prisoners had been herded, drawing her offhand saber again. Before she could reach it the door opened by itself, another squad of stormtroopers pouring out. Seeing the black clad, hooded figure wielding a pair of glowing red blades drew the new squads attention, all turning to pelt laser fire down on Blake.

Yang rolled out of the way of another stream of shots. She had made more progress down the walkway, but was quickly growing tired of the Stormtroopers constant assault. Yang took a deep breath, trying to summon the force. She ignored the hail of rock chips exploding from the missed blaster shots, her body almost moving of its own accord and dodging the lasers. Yang pushed out with her hand, throwing one of the Stormtroopers into another and sending them both off the platform. Yang smirked, her smile quickly fading as she watched the spherical object sail towards her. The blinking red light, the silver surface gave it away, "Oh Karabast," Yang cursed as she leapt forward, towards the Stormtroopers.

Blake dashed towards the new squad of troopers, ducking under the barrage of laser fire. In an instant she was upon them, stabbing through the first two. The rest tried to gain space to aim, but Blake's blade sliced down through their blasters before they could fire again. With a wide slash she dropped the other four troopers. Turning back to the platform in the centre of the mine Blake saw Yang throw herself out of the way of a grenade, and towards the platform. "Yang!" Blake cried as she leapt from the walkway onto the platform.

The explosion shook the entire shaft, a large section collapsing entirely. Yang slammed into the side of the platform, hands managing to grasp the edge. Looking up Yang saw a Stormtrooper step forward, blaster aimed at her face. Yang shut her eyes, waiting for the blinding pain. Instead she heard the familiar hum of Blake's lightsaber as it decapitated the trooper. Yang smiled as Blake looked down at her with concern, "Just, hanging out," she joked. Blake sighed, reaching down to help her up.

"Come on, we need to free those prisoners,"

"Right behind you."

* * *

 **Another chapter down! Sorry for the long wait, life, the new star wars trailer and several other things got in the way. Decided to finally finish this one off while waiting for the Volume 3 release (prepare to jump to 'hype'-rspace). Now though I have a week off work and plenty of time to kill with smashing out a few more chapters.**

 **Next time: Prison break! and Ruby and Weiss' new battleship is fully operational?**


	9. Part 7

Forty crew, four starfighters, one transport ship. Eight heavy turbolaser turrets, two medium turbolaser turrets. A multitude of point-defence laser cannons, four heavy proton torpedo tubes. The shields were at least equivalent to an Imperial class I, the hull was easily comparable minus a few weak points involving the ventral hangar bay.

Ren had done wonders, the life support systems were now running at full capacity. The engines needed a little more time, but the guns, shields and general facilities were now up and running. Weiss had sent the crew to start practicing with the guns, and Ace squadron had been sent to scan through the other wreckage to find anything they could use. That left Weiss to take care of the planning, and studying her father's new weapon. She had to figure out this weapon, and find a way to negate it lest it end their rescue before it could begin.

Sitting on the bridge Weiss read over the reports, fascinated by the strange properties of the missile. Her focus was interrupted by the hissing sound of the doors opening behind her. The methodical clunking of metal feet against the floor surprised Weiss. Spinning around she saw Penny walk in carrying a heavy load of what appeared to be blasters. "Penny? I didn't know Ren brought you,"

"Sorry captain, I was offline but Ren said he needed me to show you some things he found," Penny said in her usual cheerfulness as she dropped the blasters at her feet. Weiss raised her eyebrow in surprise at the pile of rifles. "So the ship is stocked with weaponry?"

"Yes, the armoury of the ship is fully stocked and in great condition!"

"Thank you for the update," Weiss said as studied the blaster rifles, "I'm sure they will be useful in out upcoming space engagement."

"Oh that's fantastic! I'm not really sure how they could be useful, space battles usual use larger weapons but if you think you can do it then good luck!" Penny gave Weiss a clumsy thumb up, completely missing Weiss' sarcasm. Weiss sighed, the droid waiting to be dismissed, "You can return to Ren now Penny, I'm sure he needs you,"

"Aye aye Captain!" Penny said as she gave a mock salute. Now she could add the contents of the armoury to her list of resources. At the very least the list looked more complete, tricking her into feeling better. A console beeped nearby, Weiss gliding over on her moveable chair. "Weiss here,"

"This is Ace one, we found another load of torpedos in one of the other wrecked ships, sending through the co-ordinates," Ruby's voice coming through slightly warbled, interference seemed to be an issue in the graveyard. Weiss passed on the message to the transport ship, now being used as a freighter to pick up anything of interest out in the mess of destroyed ships. Now without interruption Weiss returned to her study, going over the elements of the missile that had destroyed the _Beacon_.

For the most part it looked like a standard projectile, nothing particularly special except for the strange fuel source used to power the weapon. Weiss couldn't determine what it was, only it wasn't a normal power source, and that it was several times more powerful than any power source fitted into standard torpedoes. The missile seemed to have shield retardant energy field around it. After slicing through the shield with ease, the energy field would serve as an accelerant for the missile, sending it into the hull of the ship and detonating with tremendous effect. She was uncertain of whether or not point defence weapons could destroy the incoming missile, the energy shield very likely being able to block small amounts of laser fire. Ion blasts might be able to short out the missile, but there was no real way to test the theory without discovering whatever the power source was. If Weiss could neutralize her father's new weapon it could even the playing field, if she couldn't it was likely going to be a very short battle.

* * *

Yang and Blake took up positions either side of the next door. They had stalked through the tunnels of this mine in pursuit of the prisoners, the guards herding them deeper and deeper into the mine away from the intruders. Yang had taken up one of the fallen stormtroopers blasters, her own having fallen away when she had dived away from the grenade. "Ready," Yang asked, Blake nodded. Slamming the door controls with her fist, Yang aimed her blaster into the next room. Blake dashed through the door, lightsabers ignited at her sides.

The last of the troopers stood either side of the prisoners, the huddle of Faunus shying away from the fight. "Don't hit the prisoners!" Blake shouted as she dodged streams of laser fire.

"Sure thing!" Yang said as she fired back at the troopers, her shots carefully aimed. Blake made short work of her troopers, quick slashes searing through their armour. It wasn't long before the last stormtrooper fell, a well-placed shot from Yang impacting on his helmet. Blake stood before the other Faunus, red blades illuminating the dark cave. "We're here to rescue you," Blake said stepping forward to help one of the Faunus up. They cowered before her, all eyes drawn to her glowing sabers. "Stay back red blade, we will not suffer your kind again," an older Faunus said as he stepped in front of the group. Blake froze, unsure of what to do next.

Yang walked up beside her, resting a hand on her shoulder, "Turn off you lightsabers, leaving the talking to me." Yang stepped forward, the Faunus clearly not as intimidated. "Alright people, let's get moving it's time you got off this rock, now follow me."

The Faunus moved cautiously staying away from Blake. Yang ushered them back up through the mine, carefully stepping over the corpses of the stormtroopers. Blake hung back, surprised and hurt by the mistrust her own people had of her. "Why is she helping us?" The elder Faunus asked Yang,

"She's on your side, she was the one that found out you were here. You see her kind before?" Yang said motioning to Blake's weapons,

"The red blades have come before yes, they take our young. We never see them again," the old man said with glassy eyes. Yang nodded,

"Well she is one of the good guys, trust me."

The group moved through the caves quickly, Yang pushing forward and making sure they weren't going to encounter any trouble on the way up. That left Blake guarding over the prisoners. Whenever she tried to meet their gaze they quickly turned away, she could feel their fear of her.

Blake was surprised when one of the Faunus broke away from the group to walk with her. Blake didn't meet the girls eyes, "Your one of us, a-a Faunus," the girl said quietly, Blake nodded. "T-thanks for saving us. Your not," the girl paused, taking a nervous breath, "Really a red blade are you?" Blake looked at her,

"I was once; but not anymore. As my friend said we are here to save you. My name is Blake,"

"I'm called Velvet," the two of them walked beside each other, an awkward silence enveloping the whole group. "What about the others," Velvet asked nervously, Blake stopping and giving Velvet a surprised look,

"There are more? Here?"

"Y-yes, I don't know where but we heard the guards talking about them. There are a few other camps like this one on the planet" Blake broke away from the nervous girl running up towards Yang.

"Yang!" She called, her friend jogging back towards the group. "Yang there are other camps, we have to get everyone out,"

Yang's eyebrows shot up. "Let's get these people out first, the Imp's probably set off some alarm, no doubt they have people coming to get us."

"But the others…"

"We'll get them, but let's try not to die along the way, running headlong into an Imperial prison with a bunch of malnourished prisoners isn't exactly my idea of fun."

* * *

Ruby's A-wing drifted past the hull of Weiss' new ship. Through the cracks and tears in the surrounding derelict craft, beams of light from a distant star filtered over the now functioning cruiser. Pushing her fighter around the back of the Venator Ruby started up another scan, looking for more supplies. "Weiss, you still there?"

"Yes Ruby," Weiss said through the crackly comms.

"You really should come up with a name for the ship, we will need a designation for the fight."

"You might be right, give me some time, I'll figure it out," Weiss said casually.

"Don't make it something lame,"

"I'll try not to," Weiss said dryly. Weiss sighed, the comms still active, "Ruby report back to the ship, it's time to set things into motion."

"Aye aye captain," Ruby said as she turned her fighter back towards the hangar.

Weiss assembled her team, the Rebel soldiers and Ace squadron all standing before her in the large central hangar. "We are nearly ready to go after General Ozpin. While we don't have a full crew, we are determined and capable." Weiss assumed the pose she had so many times before, hands clasped behind her back, chin raised, voice firm. "You have all been assigned roles, the gunnery team will man the cannons, the engineering team, led by Ren, will keep us operational. Ace squadron will run as our fighter detail. The rest of you will join me as the command team."

Weiss studied the faces of her crew, noting an inspiring lack of fear. "Now, the goal is to disable the enemy star destroyer, so that we can bring the General back alive. To do this we will need every advantage we can get,"

"Because destroying it wasn't hard enough," Sun said, eliciting a laugh from a few of the assembled Rebels. Weiss gave him a stern look, silencing him quickly,

"Yes, this will be difficult, but if we don't try then Ozpin dies, and potentially gives away vital information that could kill the rest of us."

"That and he has been a friend to all of us," Ruby chimed in. Weiss smiled softly and nodded,

"Yes, without him we would all probably be dead, so we owe it to him to rescue him."

The Rebels nodded, all exchanging knowing looks, thinking back to all the times they had relied upon Ozpin. Weiss gave a final nod and stepped down from the podium she had constructed. Ruby and Ren fell in behind her, "So what is the plan?" Ruby said as she walked beside Weiss,

"Hit and fade attack to draw my father out. We find an Imperial facility, attack it to gain my father's attention, bring him back here."

"Here? The graveyard?" Ruby said, "I mean our fighters might have a better chance if it comes down to fancy flying, but you're not quite as manoeuvrable."

"That's the point, father will have a much harder time navigating this scrap yard. We know the location of every leaking reactor, every missile cache that is still untouched. This place is a veritable minefield under the right condition."

"The theory is sound," Ren said thoughtfully, "Most of the derelict craft could be used as mines. The explosions, electromagnetic pulses, would slow down possibly even disable an Imperial class star destroyer."

"Indeed, all we need is a suitable target to draw him out, and hope that we can beat him," Weiss said softly, her mind already racing with possibilities.

* * *

Yang wrenched the _Ember's_ controls upwards, hastily pulling the freighter off the ground. Pushing past the other Faunus Blake made her way into the cockpit, the only place that wasn't packed with people. "How many TIE fighters?" Blake asked as she sat in the co-pilots seat,

"Sensors are picking up two at the moment, hopefully that's all they have," Yang said as the ship lanced through the sky.

"Uh oh," Blake murmured,

"What?" Yang asked, eyes still focused on the approaching clouds, "What is it?"

"They have more TIE fighters, Interceptors too," Blake said as she leant back to allow Yang a glance at the sensor readout. Yang's eyes darted to the display for a second, seeing an uncomfortable amount of red dots. Yang looked back towards the skyline, eyes wider than before, "Get someone in the turrets, looks like we might need them."

Blake jumped up, heading back into the main area of the freighter. Pushing past a few frightened looking Faunus Blake called out, "Imperials sent TIE fighters, we need people on the guns!"

One of the younger male Faunus dashed towards the ladder, sliding down quickly. Eventually Velvet too made her way to the ladders, climbing quickly. Blake tried to hush the frightened prisoners before heading back to the cockpit as they started to crowd around her with questions.

Yang broke through the clouds, the distant whining of the TIE fighters ion engines drawing closer. Then the _Embers_ turrets fired, causing Yang to breathe a sigh of relief. Blake fell into the seat behind her, "How are we doing?"

"They are going to catch us before we can make the jump to hyperspace," Yang said nonchalantly. Blake grimaced,

"Six TIE's and two Interceptors, think we can hold them off long enough to make the jump?"

"Probably," Yang said with a cocky smile, "but where is the fun in that." Yang spun the ship back into the clouds, the TIE's soaring past her.

"Yang what are you doing! We have passengers on board!" Blake said as she stared in utter confusion at Yang's foolhardiness. The _Ember_ burst out of the clouds again, the TIE's swarming around her ship like insects. The turrets fired in every direction, catching TIE's as they tried to pull around to make a pass. "Forgot to mention this, but if we take too many hits, we aren't jumping. Haven't had time to fully repair the shield generators," Yang said sheepishly. Blake face palmed,

"It's been a month since they got damaged, you better get us through this."

"Haven't gotten us killed yet," Yang said as she grinned.

"Not for lack of trying," Blake whispered as she angled what shields the ship had. The _Ember_ shuddered as the deflectors absorbed the fire from one of the Interceptors, warnings flashing on every screen in the cockpit as the shields went down. "Blast it, guys shoot the bad guys before they can shoot us!" Yang said into the comms,

"Sorry!" Velvet said meekly,

"Lead the shot, if you can't hit them, at least make it harder for them to hit us," Blake encouraged. The ships turrets pumped out more shots, this time vaporising the Interceptor. "Yang they are forming up for another attack run,"

"On it," Yang pointed the ship down, racing towards the surface. Behind her the TIE fighters formed up, trying to get a shot off at the plummeting freighter. Yang juked left and right, the green blots flying past towards the ground. "Yang, pull up," Blake said as she watched the fast approaching surface, "Yang!" Blake said, wincing as the ground rushed towards them. Yang aimed for a river that streamed down from a set of mountains. A moment before impact Yang ripped the controls towards her, the ship groaning as it lurched back. The water from the river splashed around the ship, the _Ember_ flying just feet above the surface of the water. Yang let out her held breath, the sound of crashing TIE's causing her to grin devilishly.

Blake opened her eyes, now looking towards the peaks of mountains. "Don't do that again," she said shakily.

"Won't have too," Yang said as she eyed the tight valleys of the mountains ahead.

Now only three TIE's remained, all just managing to pull out of the dive. The constant stream of fire form the _Ember's_ turret forced their focus on evasion rather than precision. Yang ducked the ship in between the mountain's peaks forcing the TIE fighters closer together. Two fell to lucky shots, the last one pulling out of the trench like terrain of the mountains. "Last one's fleeing," Blake said with relief,

"That's our signal to get out of here. Hopefully next time we come round they won't have resupplied with new fighters," Yang activated the comms, "Good job down there, great shooting."

The tension in the ship lifted, Velvet and the other gunner receiving several pats on the backs as they returned to the crowded common area. "Nice flying, just please, please don't do that again," Blake laughed sinking into her chair. Yang laid back, putting her hands behind her head as the ship flew back towards the clouds. Flying casually through the atmosphere the pair was greeted by a sea of stars, several Faunus sneaking into the cockpit to see that stars they had been so long declined. "Let's find us a nice new home for your friends," Yang said as she started flicking through possible locations on the navicomputer. Blake watched on, commenting occasionally on pleasant looking planets.

Velvet joined them in the cockpit, standing patiently as she waited for them the pair to acknowledge her. Blake turned and smiled, "You're a naturally on that gun Velvet,"

"T-thank you,"

"You ever want to fly around the galaxy send me a holo, I can always use a good gunner," Yang said as she continued her search. Velvet remained standing, obviously wanting to say something else,

"What is it Velvet?" Blake asked soothingly,

"We wanted to give you these, it's not much, but we don't have anything else." Velvet handed over a small pouch to Blake. Blake looked inside to find a small bundle of softly glowing crystals,

"Where did you get these?" Blake said as she studied the crystals closely,

"That's what we were forced to mine, we managed to keep a few,"

"They look like…" Blake stopped, her eyes darting to her lightsabers. She was almost certain that these crystals were similar to the use in her sabers. Why would the Empire need focusing crystals? Blake looked back up to see Velvet still standing, waiting for permission to speak, "Thank you Velvet, that is very kind of you, is there anything else?" Velvet visibly straightened,

"We want to go back and free everyone else," Velvet said with a new found confidence and determination.

"Velvet we can't, not yet, the other prisons are probably ready for us, are we are not armed to take on that."

"Listen to her kid, I have broken people out of Imperial prisons before. If they're ready for you it's suicide," Yang said, still focused on the navicomputer. Velvet stood her ground,

"T-the others made it clear, we have to save the others." Blake stood and rested a hand on Velvets shoulder,

"And we will," Blake reassured, "Yang we need to find your sister." Yang looked up at this,

"Are you sure your people want to go back, to fight?"

"Yes," Velvet said without wavering. Yang sighed,

"Tell everyone to settle in for the moment, I know there is not much room, but it will take a little while for me to try and contact our friends." Velvet nodded, returning to the throng of people waiting by the entrance to the cockpit. Yang could hear the chatter of the Faunus, there was no protest, no anxiousness. "You don't want them to rescue the others?" Blake asked somewhat accusingly,

"No, I just don't like the idea of them risking capture again, or worse."

"It's not going to be like that, when we come back we will be bringing friends; enough to deal with any Imperials."

"The force tell you that?" Yang said slyly,

"Nope, I just have faith in my friends," Blake smiled, something Yang hadn't seen in some time.

* * *

" _Glatteis_? What does that mean?" Ruby said as she stared quizzically at Weiss. Weiss rolled her eyes,

"It means black ice, in my homeworlds native tongue, though that's only a close translation."

"Oh, I guess that's pretty cool,"

"Much cooler than ' _Crescent Rose'_ ," Weiss said teasingly. Ruby pouted,

"Don't make fun of my fighter, if it weren't for my sweetheart then neither of us would be alive right now,"

"Fine, I won't make fun of your sweetheart," Weiss said in an exaggerated manner.

"I thought you were her 'sweetheart'" Sun said to Weiss, walking past and only catching the end of the conversation.

"You would think so," Weiss murmured, causing Ruby to lay a gentle kiss on her cheek.

"You're my other sweetheart silly,"

Weiss ignored the heat in her face and clasped her hands behind her back. "Well it appears everything is in order, helm, take us out of the debris field." The Rebel nearest Weiss began quietly ordering the other bridge crew. A deep rumble ran throughout the ship as the engines powered up, the ship moving forward. Weiss couldn't hold back her smile, she was back in command. The crew all shared similar smiles, having worked on getting the ship operational in the last few days, and for it to finally work without issue, was something to be proud of. "Excellent job everyone, the _Glatteis_ is officially ready for battle," Weiss declaration caused several of the crew to cheer, Ruby bouncing forward to wrap Weiss in a hug.

Emerging from the graveyard of ships the _Glatteis_ entered empty space for the first time in years. "Gunnery team prepare a volley of fire," Weiss ordered,

"Copy that." Weiss watched as arcs of blue turbolaser fire shot out from either side of her ship. She turned her head to see Ruby staring happily at the streaks of blue energy. "Set sublight engines to full speed," Weiss said as she took a step back to watch over the shoulder of one of the bridge crew. The engines made no horrible sounds, the ship didn't come apart, instead it sped onwards. "You did it," Ruby whispered into Weiss ear,

"We did it," Weiss whispered back, "We all did," she said addressing everyone on the bridge and everyone connected by comlink. "Ren," Weiss called into the comms, "send Penny's attack analysis through to the bridge it's time to find out target."

"Captain," Ren now using Weiss' official title, "I have sent through the data, I also sent through an intercepted transmission that seems to have been sent to… Ruby's A-wing?" Ren said slightly confused by the information. Ruby moved towards the console, opening up the transmission, "What does it say?" Weiss asked suspiciously, Ruby smiled,

"Red like roses,"

"hmm?" Weiss said in question. Ruby turned to her, her smile having grown,

"It's Yang, the secret code we set up. She wants to meet," Ruby moved to the comms, "Ren, send our coordinates back to origin of that transmission."

"Done," Ren said quickly. Weiss crossed her arms, frown forming on her face,

"It could be a trap, and I didn't authorize that, I am Captain remember."

"It's not a trap, trust me," Ruby said confidently. Weiss rolled her eyes and uncrossed her arms,

"I suppose we could use your sisters assistance in the coming fight," Weiss conceded as she shook her head and returned to her position at the front of the bridge. "Alright while we wait for Yang, let's run a few more drills, we are severely under crewed, so we need to be as polished as possible."

* * *

 **Greetings** **friends! Back again with another chapter, sorry if its a little rough around the edges, have been under interesting circumstances when writing (lack of sleep). However as always it was a blast to write and its amazing when you lovely people seem to enjoy it as much as I. So Thanks for stopping by, hope your excited for;**

 **NEXT TIME: New Allies! And the Battle of Menagerie begins!**


	10. Part 8

The _Ember_ broke free of the iridescent blue of hyperspace. Blake and Yang sat slack jawed as they took in the sight of the Venator class cruiser that drifted before them. "That's new," Yang said in awe,

"I think it's actually an older model of ship," Blake corrected,

"You know what I mean." Yang watched cautiously as the centre of the star destroyers hull opened up to reveal a long hangar bay, a group of familiar looking fighters emerging. " _Ember_ this is Ace one, you are cleared to land," Ruby said, trying to hold back squeals of joy. Yang laughed with relief and excitement,

"Sure thing Ruby, heading in now." Descending into hangar, Yang was guided by Ruby into a cleared, ray shielded, landing area. With a solid clunk the freighter landed, the ramp hissing as the ship matched the cruisers air pressure.

Weiss stood by to meet Yang and Blake, Ren and Penny joining her. They were all surprised when a stream of people they had never met walked down the ramp; their clothes no more than tattered cloth. Eventually Blake and Yang pushed through the nervous crowd of people that had massed at the bottom of the ramp. "Welcome aboard," Weiss said as she scanned the crowd, "I was unaware you were bringing…guests?"

"Yeah well we were unaware you owned a star destroyer, guess you learn something new every day," Yang said nonchalantly as she walked up to shake Ren's hand.

"She been treating you alright? Not too bossy?"

"Haha, she's been a fine captain actually," Ren said as he looked over to the clearly irritated Weiss.

"I'm right here you know," Weiss muttered under her breath

"I doubt we could ignore you even if we wanted too," Blake said more bitterly than she had intended. Weiss glared at her,

"Pleasure to see you too Blake,"

"Yang!" Ruby shouted from the other side of the hangar as she ran towards the group.

"Ruby!" Yang called back as she stepped forward to catch Ruby in a hug as her little sister came barrelling towards her. The two sisters chattered excitedly about the adventures they had had while being apart, leaving Weiss and Blake to deal with the Faunus. "So, who are these people?" Weiss asked as she once again cast a distasteful eye over the crowd.

"They're Faunus, just like me. The people of the planet your father destroyed," Blake said, watching carefully for Weiss' reaction. Weiss appeared genuinely surprised, "Menagerie? He had a prison there? I had no idea,"

"He set up mines, used the last of my kind to work them, all for this," Blake said as she tossed Weiss one of the crystals that Velvet had given her. Weiss caught it, the blue crystal a very familiar sight. "It's like the one he gave me, to commemorate the victory," Weiss stopped herself as she felt Blake's harsh gaze, "I mean invasion, of your planet."

It all clicked suddenly in Weiss' mind. Why her father's gift had worked for Ruby's lightsaber, why he had attacked the planet so viciously. "Ren, take this," Weiss said as she passed on the crystal, "compare it to the power source used in the missile used at Hoth." Ren nodded and headed off with Penny in tow, waving a quick goodbye to Yang. Weiss stroked her chin, excited by the possibility of having found the mysterious element of the missile, as well as the perfect target of attack to draw out her father. She started to move away, wanting to head to the bridge to start sketching up attack plans. "Weiss wait, what about everyone here?" Blake said as her hand pulled Weiss back. "What? Oh, yes, we have plenty of room for them to get some rest and food if they need it, which they appear to."

"Weiss we came here because we need your help, we have to rescue the other prisoners,"

"Have no fear, I believe Menagerie is indeed our next destination. My father is probably on his way there after your break out," Weiss said confidently. Blake girt her teeth, clearly her point being ignored, "Weiss, those prisoners still on the planet are the priority, they are innocents,"

"My mission is to defeat my father and rescue General Ozpin, that's why we are doing this. Once that is done the prisoners will be freed without complication," Weiss said firmly.

"Your father is a monster, he destroyed that planet, my planet. He will kill everyone down there just to get at you, but it seems that you don't even care."

"Don't you dare say that," Weiss said coldly in a hushed tone, "I am trying my best to do what has to be done, I barely have enough people to run this ship, let alone attempt a rescue mission. I'm probably sending everyone to their deaths, so don't you dare question my resolve."

"Then send me, Yang and I will go down to the planet while you deal with your father. Some of the other Faunus, they will come with us and help as well."

"The plan is for us to lure my father's ship out of the system, if you go down to the planet you won't have any backup," Weiss said cautiously, trying to dissuade Blake. Blake just shook her head, placing her hands on her hips, "We can take care of ourselves, all we need is weaponry." Weiss smiled faintly,

"Our armoury is fully stocked, take what you need," Blake nodded and turned to leave, "Take care of Yang, Ruby would be heartbroken if she lost her," Weiss added. Blake turned back and smiled, "Only if you take care of Ruby, Yang's already lost her once."

"Count on it."

* * *

"T-they, killed, the entire guard team," The stormtrooper said as he stood before Grand Moff Schnee. The Grand Moff idly examined his robotic hand, eyes never focusing on the scared stormtrooper before him. "You let two girls break into your prison, and free your prisoners? That is rather disappointing, not a fitting performance for a fully trained stormtrooper now is it?" Schnee's gaze finally met the troopers, "You are hereby relived of your position, you may join the remaining prisoners in the mines."

"But sir," The trooper protested,

"Enough, I will not here any more excuses, you have failed, at least accept your punishment with some dignity." Schnee waved him away, the bridge once again growing quiet.

"Imprisonment? I would have killed him and got it over and done with," Cinder commented from the Grand Moff's side.

"The prisoners will tear him apart within the first minute, and the rest of troopers will learn."

"They will learn to fear your power, if that is taken away…" Cinder said suggestively, Schnee laughed,

"They fear the power of the Empire, as they should, the power that I wield."

"If only you knew the truth," Cinder whispered to herself. The Empire, with its millions of troops, starships and planets, was nothing compared to the power of the Darkside. The power her master wielded, the power she wielded, could topple it all in seconds. "My lord," Cinder saying the title with mocking exaggeration as she usually did, "My targets are the ones who broke into your prison, if I know Blake at all, she will return, she has always had an unhealthy attachment to her people."

"As you wish, I will arrange a shuttle down. Take the General with you, if he will not talk at the very least he can be of some use to the Empire in one of my prisons. I will wait in orbit, hopefully if your targets return they will bring my daughter with them."

* * *

Yang strapped the white vambrace to her hand, the yellow line painted through the centre scratched and faded with time. She had already fitted on a pair of shoulder pads and greaves, leaving the heavy chest piece so as to keep her flexibility. The armour felt good, it wouldn't stop a blaster completely, but it might save one of her limbs were it to be hit. Beside her sat her new blaster rifle, the Clone Wars era DC-15A blaster was a larger weapon that what Yang was used to, but it packed a punch. Outside the small room that Yang had taken were the rest of the willing members of the rescue mission team. The able bodied Faunus had kept to their word and had taken up arms to save their imprisoned people.

Yang looked up as Blake opened the door and entered. For the first time since Yang had met her Blake wore something other than her hooded robes. Instead of hiding behind the dark clothes and obscuring hood Blake wore a white flight jacket, her hair free flowing with her feline ears on display. "Hey," Yang said as she took in Blake's new appearance with wide eyes. Blake blushed, eyes darting away from Yang, "Hey."

"What, uh, can I do for you,"

"I came to give you this," Blake said quickly as she handed Yang a lightsaber. Yang took it hesitantly, studying the unfamiliar hilt,

"Where did you find this?"

"I didn't find it, it's made from my shoto saber, thought you might want it. I added a little bit to upsize it for you." Yang gripped the hilt, the saber fitting comfortably in her hands, the thin neck flaring out into a circular emitter. Standing and taking a step back Yang ignited the blade, a golden pillar of light erupting from the lightsaber. Yang smiled, "just like dads,"

"I thought you might like that, I used the crystals Velvet gave me." Yang looked down to Blake's belt, searching for Blake's saber.

"What about yours?" Yang said as she nodded towards the empty belt.

"I don't think I can use it anymore, not after… not after…" Blake went quiet, face straining as she remembered her peoples disgust with her.

"It was the prison wasn't it, the way they looked at you," Yang said, finishing Blake's thought. Blake nodded, still not able to look Yang in the eye. "Blake that weapon is important to you, just because someone gives you a bad look doesn't mean you should give it up."

"I killed innocent people with that thing,"

"Yeah but now you're going to use it to save people, it's a Jedi weapon, and that's what you are Blake, what you have wanted to be." Yang said sincerely, moving closer to Blake, who now looked up to meet Yang's caring gaze.

"Yang, after what I have done, without a real teacher, I can never really be a Jedi."

"Neither can I, stars I don't even want to be one, doesn't mean I'm not a good person, doesn't mean you aren't. All that matters is that here and now, you are the kindest, most caring, selfless person I have ever met."

"Yang…" Blake was cut off as Yang leant down to kiss her, pulling Blake closer with strong arms. "Yang, I can't," Blake whispered as she broke away slowly.

"Why not," Yang asked quietly, their faces only inches apart.

"These… Feelings, have lead me down a bad path before, I can't go back to what I was,"

"You won't," Yang said as she kissed Blake again, Blake giving in and now being the one to pull the two closer. The pair were interrupted by Velvet entering the room. Blake quickly pushed Yang back and composed herself, "Uh, yes Velvet?"

"Oh, sorry, uh, Captain Weiss was looking for you Blake," Velvet said as she blushed a deep red. Blake nodded and left quickly, pulling Velvet along with her. Yang sighed and fell back onto her bunk, her new saber still gripped in her hands.

* * *

The hangar was abuzz with activity as everyone prepared for the attack. The Faunus had equipped themselves with the old Clone Wars weaponry and armour. Most of the armour had ben customized to account for the animalistic features that the individual Faunus had. Holes cut in the top of helmets to allow ears or horns to poke through and fingerless gauntlets for claws. Overall most of the Faunus only wore several pieces of armour rather than a full set.

Ruby watched them get a handle on their weapons from her perch on the hull of her ship. Beside her ship Nora's Y-wing was being modified by Ren. Through his study of the crystals from Menagerie Ren had found a way to stop them. Ruby didn't like the idea, it put Nora in more danger than Ruby liked. Ren though said it was the only way, and Weiss had decided that the risk was worth it.

"How's it going?" Ruby said shouting over the sounds of the hangar, Ren sliding out from under the bottom of Nora's fighter,

"It's going well, should be done soon."

Ruby nodded, studying the turret on the top of Nora's ship. Apparently the only way to effectively stop the crystal powered missiles was to disrupt the current of electricity that the crystals produced. The safest way to do that without detonating the missiles was to overcharge them with a powerful Ion blast. Nora's turrets were the only Ion weapon that they had. True it was small, but overcharged with the a few of the crystals Yang had brought back it was strong enough to short out the missile. To hit the missile required extreme accuracy and timing, something only a computer could achieve, or a well programed droid. Penny had volunteered to integrate herself with the Y-wing to more accurately fire the Ion turret.

The rest of Ace squadron were somewhere else on the ship, likely grabbing some shut eye before the beginning of the operation. Ruby couldn't sleep, pre battle nerves keeping her form relax. So she watched Ren work, she watched the Faunus train with their weapons, and she prepared as best she could for the fight.

* * *

Cinder paced methodically in front of General Ozpin. Ozpin had passed out again, the pain proving to be too intense. Still, even after what had been days of questioning, he had revealed nothing of the Rebellions location, or any information about Blake and Yang. He was a man of extremem willpower, if only he had been an ally that Cinder could use.

"Neo, he has had enough for today," Cinder said, much to Neo's disappointment. The short Inquisitor left without question though, never daring to challenge Cinder. Cinder gave Ozpin one last look of irritation before leaving the small dark chamber.

The small Imperial base that Grand Moff Schnee had set up was modest, a simple dark metallic bunker on the grey surface of Menagerie. The base itself had enough facilities for over a hundred troops, even though only half of that was present on the planet. "Neo, go retrieve Adam, I feel it's time we had a talk."

Cinder waited in the room she had claimed from the technical staff of the facility. Like the rest of the facility the room was lit only by dim artificial light. Cinder had found a chair similar to that of the Grand Moff's, and placed it in the centre of the room, surrounded by screens and control panels that monitored the prison. Adam entered the room swiftly, Cinder immediately feel the anger and frustration he brought with him. "What troubles you Adam, I haven't sensed this level of anger in you in quite some time," Cinder said, as she studied the Adam's face.

"It's nothing mistress," Adam said unconvincingly,

"It's not nothing. You failed to retrieve Blake, you failed to save this pitiful planet from the Empire. These things trouble you yes?"

"Yes, mistress," Adam said in a lower, primal tone. Cinder grinned,

"You were weak once, your kind are still weak, and it cost them everything. You see them toiling away on this shell of a planet, unable to help themselves. Learn from them Adam, feel the power that your hatred, your aggression can give you," Cinder rose from her chair and walked over to Adam, whose head remained hung in shame. "Blake will return, soon I can feel it. She betrayed you," Cinder now whispering as she stalked circles around the motionless Adam. "She betrayed us all, betrayed your kind by refusing to become powerful to lead them. She has chosen the easy path, the path of the coward."

"She can be turned back, there is still anger in her, I could feel it,"

"It is irrelevant now, she must be dealt with, and you must be the one to do it. Strike her down and prove to me your commitment, your strength. One day the Emperor will fall, and we will rise up to take his power. Only with the full power of the darkside can the galaxy be controlled. If you do this, you will stand by my side when we take control."

Adam looked up at Cinder, looking for any sign of deception. "Lord Vader, the Emperor, they are more powerful than we could ever be,"

Cinder smiled reaching out with a gentle hand to caress Adam's cheek, "They tricked us into believing that, they tricked the whole galaxy into thinking it. I have seen the truth, the Emperor will fall. For now we serve, hunt down the traitors of the Empire, even listen to the insufferable Grand Moff. If you prove yourself to me, when it comes our time to rule, you will know more power than even that of the Emperor, and you will be able to lead your people with strength."

Adam froze, red visor staring back blankly. Despite his doubt, there was a supreme confidence, a knowing that Cinder possessed, the strength to sway almost anyone to her will. "Yes… My master," Adam said as he bowed before the smiling Cinder.

* * *

Weiss assembled the leaders of her attack force. Ruby, Yang, Blake and Ren all stood in the private conference area the Weiss had established. Yang pleased to see Blake's lightsaber hanging from her belt.

"In a few hours we make the jump for Menagerie. It is safe to assume that either my father or at the very least a small defence force is waiting for us. Whatever the case, our first goal is to free any prisoners on the planet," Weiss said giving Blake a sympathetic look. Blake nodded in approval, allowing Weiss to continue, "Yang, you and Blake will lead the rescue team, taking the transport down to the planet's surface. Ruby, Ace squadron will run as our fighter screen, however your primary objective, if my father is waiting for us or arrives quickly enough, is to intercept the 'shield buster missiles'." Weiss said as she rolled her eyes, Ruby very happy that Weiss had used the name she had come up with. "I will draw my father back to the graveyard, where hopefully we will be able to disable his ship and rescue General Ozpin."

"Assuming he is still alive," Yang added, only to receive a jab in the gut by Ruby.

"He's alive," Ruby said certainly. Ren, Blake and Weiss smiled as Yang gave her sister a condescending hair ruffle, causing Ruby to pout. A moment of awkward silence fell as the smiles faded from everyone's faces. Weiss took a deep breath ignoring her nerves,

"If he is alive, we will rescue him, we will rescue the other prisoners, and we will defeat my father."

"Or we'll die trying," Yang said as everyone started moving to their positions, a smile plastered on her face. "Out gunned, out manned, good chance of death. Forgot how fun a typical day for the Rebellion was."

* * *

 **Greetings friends, sorry for the wait on this one, and for it being slightly shorter than usual. This chapter was mostly set up for the next few, that and I have been rather busy with working and watching Gordon Ramsay, cause who doesn't love that cheeky bugger. Anyway, thanks for reading, thanks for beign so kind with your reviews and follows, it's still amazing fun to write this story and a lot of that is because of you wonderful people.**


	11. Part 9

"We are all clear to leave captain, waiting on your command." Weiss nodded, pridefully looking at the tactical display.

"Yang, is the transport ready?"

"We are good to go down here," Yang replied. Weiss nodded to herself flicking over to the next comm channel,

"Ren, is everything ready on your end?"

"Yes ma'am," Ren said quietly but confidently. Weiss let out a sigh of relief, straightening her back and standing with hands clasped behind her. Flicking over to the last channel Weiss smiled to herself,

"Ace squadron, are you ready to launch?"

"You bet _Glatteis_ ," Ruby replied. Weiss isolated Ruby's channel,

"Good luck Ruby, please be careful. I-I love you," Weiss whispered into the mic, so that the rest of the bridge remained unaware.

"I love you too Weiss, I'll be fine, see you at the victory party,"

"I can't wait," Weiss laughed before opening all the comm channels. "Alright everyone, we are about to jump. It's going to be tough but we have a plan, if everything goes well in a few hours we will have liberated Menagerie and rescued General Ozpin. We do this for everyone on Hoth, everyone On Alderaan, for the Rebellion!" Weiss cried, the command centre and comms erupting in cheers. Taking a deep breath Weiss gave the officer a nod. A moment later, the _Glatteis_ jumped to hyperspace.

* * *

The Imperial star destroyer orbited the grey planet. "Captain we have enemy contact, Imperial class star destroyer _Winter_ ," one of the Rebel officers informed Weiss. It was her father after all.

"Launch the transport, Ace squadron move to sector seven and prepare for enemy TIE's. Focus energy into our fore shields and main cannons. Fire on my command."

"I'm away," Yang's voice emanating from one of the communication stations,

"Ace squadron is in position, picking up enemy fighters," Ruby's voice coming from a second station.

"Ace one, engage at will," Weiss ordered as she studied the holographic display that detailed the positions of all the starships.

"Copy that _Glatteis_ , Ace two, three, let's move, Ace six hang back and mop up anything we let through."

"Ooh," Nora whined, "I don't get to have any fun."

"Just wait for those missiles, they should be fun enough for you," Ruby said as she pushed her fighter towards the enemy ships.

"This isn't going to be easy," Neptune said nervously, causing Sun to laugh,

"It never is," he replied.

Ruby let out a breath as she turned her engines up to full throttle, her smaller fighter rocketing towards the TIE's at an alarming pace. Sun and Neptune followed as best they could, their X-wings significantly slower than the A-wing. Ruby aimed for the leading fighter, flying on a direct collision course. The TIE's began firing, Ruby still aiming for the leader, drifting slightly to avoid being hit by the enemy blasters, but not away from her target. She didn't fire back, focused on remaining the primary target of the TIE's attacks, leaving her allies to cover for her.

The lead pilot panicked, banking hard to the left as Ruby's fighter sped metres past him. In his panic he managed to nearly hit his own ally, throwing the group into disarray. Sun and Neptune picked off a pair of TIE's as they flew chaotically to try and reform the formation. Ruby pulled her fighter up into a roll, turning around to make another pass at the TIE's, this time with weapons free.

Ruby vaporised fighter after fighter as they tried to hold off attacks from both sides as Sun and Neptune forced them into Ruby's arc of fire.

"Great job Ace squadron, we detect no more incoming fighters," Weiss reported to Ruby. Instead of snub fighters, her father's ship now began to move towards them.

"Captain we are receiving a transmission from the enemy."

Weiss grimaced, uncertain of whether or not to answer the call. "Patch it through," she said reluctantly, her nerves reaching a peak as an image of her father replaced the tactical readout.

"Daughter, I have been waiting for you. I must say I am surprised you brought such a… relic with you."

"I assure you this vessel is more than capable of dealing with you," Weiss said bitterly. Her father chuckled,

"You plan to 'deal' with me? That is quite amusing, and also very childish, to have such a pointless vendetta against your own blood."

"I am not here out of personal hatred for you, although that will make this all the sweeter. Release General Ozpin now or I will be forced to destroy you."

Grand Moff Schnee frowned, "You disappoint me again Weiss, you are a poor commander, a traitor and you have no respect for your betters. It is you who shall be destroyed," the hologram of her father turned, "You may fire when ready. Goodbye Weiss." The hologram disappeared and the tactical display returned. "The enemy is launching more fighters, and there guns are nearly in range!" One of the officers shouted nervously as the display filled with TIE fighter signals.

Ruby watched as more TIE's poured from the hangar of the star destroyer. "Ace squadron, prepare to engage enemy fighters," Ruby ordered nervously.

* * *

The transport broke through the last layer of clouds, now looking out over the desolate landscape of Menagerie. "I think I'm picking up what looks like the biggest of the mining facilities, can't believe we missed it out first time round," Yang said as she flew the ship towards the prison. Blake shrugged,

"We weren't looking last time, we assumed it was abandoned."

Rain pelted down on the transport as it plunged towards the surface, the black dot of the Imperial facility growing larger as they flew towards battle. "Head down to the others, this is their first combat, they are going to need someone to lead them out," Yang said as she started the final approach. Blake gulped back nervousness, not of the fight, but of leading her people. "They'll follow Blake, trust me," Yang assured her, Blake sighed

"May the force be with you Yang, be careful out there." Yang smiled,

"You too Blake, now go get everyone ready."

Blake strutted into the main cargo area of the transport, met by the gaze of the anxious Faunus soldiers. Blake found it amusing how quickly she had gone from seeing them as prisoners, victims, to now warriors. It filled her with pride and hope for her people, and even for herself. Blake took up a position right in front of the main ramp, she would be the first out. Turning back to look at her allies Blake nodded confidently, sharing an assuring look with Velvet. Without fear or trepidation Blake unclipped her lightsaber and activated it. Instead of the menacing red glow that the Faunus had learnt to fear, now her blade glowed a silvery purple, Blake having used the last crystal that Velvet had given her.

"Let save the rest of our people," Blake said softly, though loud enough for all to hear. The transport shuddered and the ramp hissed as it began to lower. Wind and rain whipped wildly outside, and in the distance, Blake could see the Imperial line of defence set up just beyond the base.

* * *

"Enemy in range,"

"Fire," Weiss commanded. The batteries and turrets across the hull of the _Glatteis_ opened fire, spewing forth blue bolts of energy. Off to the _Glatteis'_ port side the _Winter_ sprayed green blasts, the two sets of lasers meeting in the space between. Most of the bolts collided with each other, the few that didn't slammed into the opposing forces shields. "Ace six, prepare to intercept missiles, they are no doubt coming," Weiss said as she watched the battle.

"Little… Busy," Nora groaned as she threw her ship left and right through the cloud of TIE fighters. Behind her Penny fired streams of Ion shots into the TIE's, the disabled fighters being cleaned up by Ruby, Sun and Neptune who followed.

"We are swinging around, we will be in position to intercept soon," Ruby said as she blasted another disabled TIE into dust.

"Ace one we are picking up a little bit of a following!" Sun said as a group of TIE's formed up behind him and started firing into his rear deflectors.

"Weiss, we are going to need some help with these fighters,"

"Affirmative Ace one, gunners aim your weapons towards the starboard side, target the TIE fighters." As Weiss finished her order she watched as several of the guns swivel to aim at the approaching hoard of fighters, the four Rebel ships leading a pack. The batteries fired as Ace squadron raced across the hull, the TIE's getting caught in the maelstrom of blaster cannon fire.

"Captain the missile bays are opening on the enemy craft, detecting the irregular power signature," One of the officers reported. Weiss leant over the comms,

"Ace squadron, shield busters incoming from mark," Weiss glanced over to a different display, "Six one."

"Copy that," Ruby said relived to not have to deal with the TIE's anymore. "Nora, Penny get ready,"

"We are combat ready!" Penny replied as the turret swivelled towards the now launched missiles. The streaks of blue light appeared to fast too shoot, and for a moment Ruby truly believed that Penny couldn't do it, and that the _Galtteis_ was doomed. The Ion turret fired, three quick shots all fired, leading the missiles heavily. "Shots fired with ninety nine percent precision," Penny reported confidently. Ruby watched in awe as the two sets of projectiles collided perfectly, exploding in a blinding white light.

"It worked," Ruby said in shock,

"Ace squadron, great job, move to sector two and prepare for the jump back." Weiss only smiled confidently, her plan slowly coming together. The shields held under the barrage of the _Winter_ , their own guns having stopped firing to divert more energy to said shields. Weiss watched her father manoeuvre his ship in pursuit, "Ren, power up the hyperdrive, if you can, mimic a power failure and leak our jump co-ordinates."

"Done," Ren said quickly, having obviously prepared for this moment.

"Captain, Ace squadron are in position, our rear shields are holding and we are ready to jump,"

"Good work, take us out of the system." Weiss' Rebel force made the jump, her ships flitting away into faster than light travel.

* * *

Blake ran into the wind and rain, thankful for the boots she had borrowed form Yang. Lightning crackled in the sky, illuminating the white armour of the stormtroopers that waited behind a waist high barrier. Around her the Faunus began firing, the blue streaks slamming into the wall and occasionally knocking a stormtrooper to the ground. The Imperials fired back, spraying red blaster fire out into the rain. Blake swatted away several bolts with her lightsaber, moving quickly towards the enemy. Behind her she heard the pained screams of her allies as a few fell. The ground exploded near her as an E-web blaster turret fired its heavy bolts towards the oncoming Faunus, making it Blake's first target.

She leapt over the barricade, coming down into a roll and sweeping out with her blade, taking out the legs of a few surprised stormtroopers. Pushing out with the force Blake toppled the mounted blaster, before quickly bringing up her saber to block more laser fire. Velvet raced to stand beside Blake, surprisingly fearless, firing shot after shot into the chests of the enemy troopers. Sparks flew, lightning cracked the sky, Faunus and stormtrooper fell. Blake stood surrounded by Faunus, using her lightsaber to protect them from the enemy's shots, while they pounded away with shots of their own.

A blinking grenade fell at the door of the facility, amidst a group of retreating stormtroopers. Blake looked to see a triumphant Yang standing in the rain, grinning as the explosion rocked the earth. "This is too easy, if we keep this up we will be out of here with the prisoners in no time," Yang said confidently.

" _If_ things keep going well, I don't think we have ever been that lucky before," Blake said as the Faunus prepared to head into the prison.

"There's always a first time," Yang said hopefully as she started moving towards the entrance of the prison. Everyone fell in behind her blasters raised as they entered the dark hallways, surprised by the lack of Imperial defence. The tight halls twisted and turned, all ominously empty.

"I got a bad feeling about this," Blake murmured

"Yeah, I'm getting that too," Yang said as she took position beside a large blast door. The Faunus took up positions behind the small out hanging support beams alongside the walls, aiming towards the blast door. Yang counted down from three with her fingers before slamming the door control. The black doors opened and the team was greeted by another group of stormtroopers, the two parties immediately exchanging fire. Blake hid behind her section of the wall next to the door, not wanting to get in between the two streams of laser fire. Instead she watched Yang staring down the barrel of her blaster, taking precise shots.

Yang dropped her blaster back to her side and rushed into the room, smashing the last trooper with the butt of her gun, cracking the stormtroopers visor. "Move up!" She called behind her, the Faunus rushing into the room. Yang found the facilities layout on one of the rooms consoles, "looks like the main cell area is down that way," Yang said as she pointed to her left.

"Velvet stay here and hold this room I'll-" Blake stopped, a chill running through her body. Yang gave her a worried look,

"Blake, what's wrong," she asked quietly.

"He's here Yang, I can sense Adam," Blake whispered back, causing Yang to grimace. "Take the others and get everyone out, I will go deal with him,"

"Not on your own you're not, Velvet, change of plans, take everyone down to the prison and get those people out. We have to go deal with something else." Yang said as she pushed Blake along with her, heading off in the opposite direction to the rest of the Faunus.

* * *

The _Glatteis_ left hyperspace and was met with the familiar sight of the graveyard of ships. "Make for position one, they are no doubt close behind us," Weiss said as she moved closer towards the view screen.

"Captain the _Winter_ has just entered the system, they are currently out of range,"

"Very good, slow so that they come in range once we are within the graveyard, give them the illusion of hunting us." Weiss eyed the bulkhead of the derelict separatist craft that served as their first trap. "Captain, the enemy have begun firing,"

"Move us deeper, prepare to fire on that ship," Weiss said pointing at the spear like separatist cruiser. Turning back to the tactical display Weiss watched as her father's vessel caught up to her's, his guns firing through the gap between scrap. "Ren how are the shields holding up?"

"No problems yet, taking the brunt of their firepower back at Menagerie weakened us, but as long as we stay at this distance they will hold."

"Then let's try and keep it that way, gunnery team, prepare to fire."

* * *

"Sir they are firing on one of the derelict craft, the guidance systems must have broken in that old vessel." The Grand Moff dismissed the officers assumption,

"No… Move away from that vessel immediately!" The Grand Moff shouted as he realised his daughters plan. He watched as the hull of the nearby wreck broke away as it was pelted with turbolaser fire, one shot breached through the hull and detonated what the Grand Moff assumed to be ordnance or an old reactor. The explosion hit the side of the Imperial star destroyer, sending rumblings through the entire ship. Red lights flashed on nearly every console on the bridge, the officers all shouting various warnings of system failures. "Sir! We just lost port deflector shields!"

* * *

Ruby didn't see the explosion, only the light that poured from it illuminating the scrap yard. "That's our signal," Ruby said, directing her squadron to begin their attack run. Flying in formation the fighters soared over and through the various wrecks that made up the graveyard, all eyeing the exposed side of the star destroyer. "Remember, our targets are the weapon systems, we want to disarm this thing, not destroy it," Ruby reminded everyone as her targeting computer lined up a shot at one of the turbolaser batteries.

Ruby flicked over to her cluster missiles, finger hovering over the trigger. The guns turned towards the small group of fighters as they approached, but their reaction time was too slow. Ruby squeezed off her shot, the stream of missiles detonating against the turbolaser battery turning it into shrapnel.

Beside her Nora dropped her payload, destroying a series of smaller guns. Neptune and Sun following suit and sending proton torpedos into other batteries. "Bombing run successful, stick to their port side we managed to get most of the big guns," Ruby informed Weiss with a smile.

"Excellent work, helm move us towards position two. Open communication with the _Winter_ , let's see if they are more reasonable now." The officer nodded and once again the tactical display changed into a picture of her father. "Surrender now and send General Ozpin to my ship," Weiss said with an overconfident smile. Her father returned the look, "An impressive trick, but my ship is still more than a match for yours, and I don't have your general."

Weiss pursed her lips, her father's arrogance even in the face of defeat was insufferable. Furthermore, Ozpin wasn't with him. "T-then you leave me no choice,"

"As you leave me with no choice, goodbye Weiss." It was her father that shut off the communication, and it was her father that started firing first. To her surprise however her father's guns began firing into the field of scrap, shredding the surrounding derelict craft. Most of the ships just disintegrated, but a few, the ones that Weiss had set up as future traps, exploded violently. In a dazzling chain reaction pulled off by the random fire, the graveyard turned into a chaotic storm of explosions and shrapnel. The _Galtteis_ shook violently, the shields taking a hammering, "Move us out of the field now!"

"Captain we just lost power to our fore shields!"

"Ma'am we just lost one of our turbolaser cannons!"

Weiss froze as nearly everyone started shouting reports of system failures as the ship was rocked by explosion after explosion. She stared out into space, staring at her father's ship. Like her own it was being beaten on all sides by the force of explosions and flying chunks of debris. Her carefully timed plan, the execution of which had required precise timing and targeting in order to avoid this very outcome, had been thrown into utter chaos. "He's insane," Weiss muttered to herself as she watched both ships burn.

* * *

Yang and Blake hadn't encountered anymore stormtroopers since they left Velvet and the Faunus. Blake hoped that it meant that there were very few troopers in the base, and not that Velvet may have encountered the bulk of the force. She tried as best she could to focus on what she was doing, but her mind kept thinking of her allies, of the fact that she had to face Adam.

"Can you still feel him?" Yang asked as they moved slowly and carefully through the dark halls.

"I think so, he's… Close," Blake said nervously, hands tightening on her lightsaber. The pair moved across a precarious walkway that hung over what seemed to be another mine, a dark circular hole like the last, although this time with much more infrastructure. Reaching the other side Blake halted, Yang pulling up beside her. "What is it?" Yang asked as her eyes darted around for signs of danger. Blake just pointed to a blast door across the hallway,

"He's waiting for us,"

"Then let's not be tardy." Yang said as she strutted forward towards the door.

"Yang," Blake said quietly, her voice wavering with fear. Yang stopped, turning with a determined look on her face.

"I'm right here with you Blake, you have nothing to fear from him. I won't let him hurt you,"

"I'm not worried about being hurt, I'm worried about you being hurt. I'm worried I can't do what has to be done,"

"You'll do what's right. I love you Blake." Yang's comment caught her off guard, but immediately took her mind away from the sickening feeling in her gut.

"I-I know,"

"Then let's do this."

The door opened slowly, revealing a large flat room. Several pillars lined each side of the room, weapon racks attached to each. It was clearly some sort of training room. Adam sat clad in black in the centre of the room, eyes still covered by the glowing red visor. Yang immediately took a shot at him, a lightsaber springing into his hand and just barely deflecting the bolt. Yang could feel the hatred directed at her from Adam's stare, she shrugged, "It was worth a shot."

"Is this really the company you keep now Blake? You have no qualms with spending your time with this honourless scum?"

"Compared to a ruthless sociopath I think I'm an easy step up," Yang retorted as her blaster slowly lowered and her hand reached for her saber. The three stayed motionless, all hands on weapons and eyes on opponents. No one moved.

"You could still surrender Blake. Cinder told me to destroy you, but she doesn't know you like I do. You are strong, you have just forgotten, and it's your anger that made you strong."

"You don't know her anymore, I doubt you ever did," Yang said as she tossed aside her blaster, flipping the lightsaber in her hand.

"My hate made me blind, it's blinded you as well. We have done a lot of evil, but we can make up for that," Blake said, finally chiming in.

"I can't redeem myself, I can only grow strong enough so that I don't need to," Adam stood now, saber at his side. Blake activated her lightsaber,

"It will always matter, but I'm not going to give up my new life because you are too weak to see the truth. You are a monster."

Adam grit his teeth, the words more painful than any training exercise he had been put through. Yang was the next to activate her saber, raising it defensively in front of her as she saw Adam grimace and sneer. The door opened behind Blake and Yang, causing both of them to take up position back to back, Yang looking out back towards the walkway, Blake facing Adam. Neo walked confidently into the room, spinning her red lightsaber casually. "We got another one," Yang said as she eyed up the new opponent

"What do they look like?"

"Short, pink and brown eyes and hair, skin tight black armour,"

"Sithspawn." Blake cursed, remembering the few interactions she had with Neo. "It's been a while Neo," Blake said still staring down the twitching Adam. Neo's smile widened, but she said nothing.

"Not very talkative huh?" Yang asked, Neo continuing her silence.

"You can't face both of us, I doubt you could even face one of us. I can feel your weakness, you have forgotten so much Blake, it's like you are a trainee."

"I'm stronger than I have ever been," Blake countered taking a deep breath as she prepared.

"You deal with him, I got the short one," Yang said as she smiled cockily.

"Be careful," Blake said fondly,

"You too." Yang rushed forward swinging at the small inquisitor, Neo brining up her saber to block it with ease, a glee full look on her face as the two engaged. Adam took a large stride forward, swinging downward with a heavy strike. Blake rolled to the side as the blade sparked on the ground where she used to be. Blake poked at Adam with quick strikes, forcing him onto the defensive.

Yang kept swinging in wide arcs, Neo dancing backwards, blocking only when necessary. The two quickly made their way of the room and onto the walkway.

Blake and Adam's sabers clashed, forcing them into a contest of strength. Adam pushed her back, slamming her into one of the rooms pillars, knocking over the rack of training weapons. Blake ducked as Adam followed up with a slash, his blade melting through a portion of the pillar as Blake pushed past him. "Adam, please don't do this, I'm trying to save my people, our people!"

"Maybe they don't deserve freedom, maybe they should earn like we did," Adam said coldly, taking heavy strides and taking another deadly swing.

"We didn't earn anything, we were forced to become Inquisitors. Help me free them, they have suffered more than us,"

"They don't know the meaning of suffering, and it seems you have forgotten." Blake gave up trying to convince him, she could only feel anger in him. Without a peaceful way out, Blake attack, the blades meeting in a flurry of well-practiced swipes, stabs and slashes.

Neo finally began to fight back, each strike forcing Yang to react quickly, compromising her defence. Yang blocked the red blade, slowly being forced back towards the training room. She pulled her blade close, just in time to catch the tip of Neo's blade as it came dangerously close to her face. Yang pushed out with the force, causing Neo to slide back and give Yang more room. She advanced and managed to get in several strong strikes, the two now standing in the middle of the thin walkway.

Blake dashed to the side, using the force to throw some of the training weapons Adam's way. He slashed through them without care, continuing his relentless pursuit, arcing his weapon down again and again. Blake managed to stay just ahead of his saber. "Fight me Blake, at least die with dignity,"

"I'm not going to die here," Blake said as she advanced, giving in to his taunt and engaging him directly again.

"Or is it you still have feelings for me! We used to be happy Blake, how could you leave!" Adam shouted now, grunting with each swing as he poured his frustration into each blow. Blake held her ground, feeling only pity for the man she once cared about,

"I woke up and saw what I was doing,"

"Did you ever truly care?" Adam said as his saber sliced through the edge of another pillar, sending sparks flying. Blake leapt back, putting some distance between them,

"Of course I did, you were the only constant I had in my life. But you hurt me Adam, I wish you could have come with me, but I was still scared of you. Now I see I made a mistake."

"So you finally understand the strength you gave up?" Adam asked hopefully,

"No, I understand that I should have brought you with me. You only did what you did because of the Empire, because of the Emperor and what he made us. You're a victim like me,"

"I'm not a victim. I make my own decisions, I am nobodies slave. I even serve Cinder now, she has seen the Emperors destruction, and we will take control when he is gone." Blake grimaced at the memory of Cinder, of all those who had hurt her, Cinder was the worst.

"She is just as much of a monster as the Emperor; you only replace the person who holds your leash,"

"I have no leash," Adam said with venom.

"If you truly believe that, then you are lost," Blake said softly, raising her lightsaber and advancing.

Yang grew frustrated and tired as the nimble inquisitor continually evaded her. "Just die already," Yang grunted as her saber was deflected into the railing of the walkway, slicing through it. She could feel the anger starting to surge through her as Neo smiled mockingly at her. Yang fought the urge to lose control, to give in to the darkside. Breathing heavily from exhaustion and keeping her mind on the thoughts of the ones she cared about, Yang resisted. Neo saw Yang's exhaustion, saw her lack of concentration in the moment, and struck. Neo pounced, twirling her saber expertly, slicing through more railing and knocking Yang's yellow blade left and right. Barely able to keep up with the fluid movements of her opponent, Yang lunged forward desperately. Neo twirled on the spot, Yang barrelling past her. Spinning back Neo slashed her blade through Yang's white shoulder pad, searing through the plastoid material and flesh. Yang moaned in pain as she fell to one knee, left hand reaching for the wound on her shoulder.

Neo stretched out her hand and pushed Yang across the walkway, the unprepared Yang tumbling head over heels, lightsaber rolling off towards the other end of the walkway. Yang crawled forward, desperately trying to get to her feet. Neo once again threw her up the walkway with a force push. Bruised and still feeling the burning in her shoulder Yang felt defeated, her lightsaber just out of reach, and her mind to hazy to reach out with the force to grab it. Neo strode up beside her, aiming her red saber down with a sickening smile.

Neo brought the blade down, but found herself frozen, a force pushing her arm back just enough to save Yang. Yang's fists clenched, she felt no fear, no anger, just a need to survive, because if she didn't, Ruby would be alone. Blake would be alone. She wouldn't die this easily.

Blake flipped her lightsaber into a reverse grip, batting away more of Adams attacks. He didn't grow tired, seemingly completely sustained by his frustration. Blake flipped over him, turning just in time to meet his blade. Pushing each other away both combatants raised a hand, both throwing as much power as they could at each other. The room seemed to shake slightly, the metla floor creaking and the discarded practice weapons cracking form strain. Blake took a step back. Beads of sweat rolled down her face as she focused, channelling as much serenity and calm as she could. Blake took another step back, this time feeling as though the bones in her hand were close to shattering. Adam smiled, "You're devotion to that idiotic, extinct, Jedi order have made you weak,"

"I'm… No… Jedi," Blake said through gritted teeth. She wasn't a Jedi, in the face of defeat, of evil, she found no calm, no peace. She would rather die though, than give in to the anger that swelled just below the surface. If this was to be her last thought, then she would think of Yang. Closing her eyes, Blake made one final push. The tension in her arm subsided, and she felt a great pressure lift. Opening her eyes she watched as Adam was lifted off his feet, slamming into the back wall of the room. Blake saw her chance and took it, dashing forward and driving her blade through Adam.

Neo stumbled back, surprised at the sudden strength she felt in Yang. Yang reached out and her saber flew into her hand, "I'm done playing," She said coldly as she activated her lightsaber. Neo stood hesitantly, finally taking on a specifically defensive stance. Yang threw her lightsaber, Neo flinching, ducking and raising her lightsaber to block the flying blade. Yang charged the smaller girl, Neo only looking up in time to see Yang's uninjured shoulder slamming into her face. Neo was thrown back, her lightsaber clanking onto the walkway beside Yang's.

Neo fell back against the broken handrail, nearly falling off the walkway. Yang moved after her, Neo stuck scrambling for a hold on the stable side of the railing. Teetering on the edge Neo stared at Yang in fear as she strode towards her. With a kick Yang sent Neo tumbling down into the darkness of the mine.

Yang slumped as the adrenaline started leaving her, her body leant up against the stable railing. Quickly she looked down towards the training room to see Blake hovering caringly above the motionless Adam. Pushing herself off the railing Yang leant down and grabbed her lightsaber before stumbling towards Blake. "You alright?" Yang asked as she staggered into the room, Blake looked up with wide eyes. She rushed over to Yang, reaching under her arm to stabilise her,

"Can't believe you're asking me that question, look at you."

"I'm fine, been in worse condition before," Yang mumbled, clearly focusing on not passing out.

"It's over," Blake said as she looked over to the motionless body of her former partner. Yang pulled her close, giving her a quick kiss on the head. Turning to leave both of them froze as they noticed a new figure standing across the walkway.

"Very impressive, I expected Adam and Neo would have dealt with you easily. It is truly disappointing, I had hoped they would have proved to be useful allies." The figure strut towards them, eyes a glow with malice,

"Who's this?" Yang asked hesitantly,

"Cinder," Blake said with a shiver, "Yang, we need to leave."

* * *

 **Part 1 of the liberation of Menagerie done! The next part might take some time as I am about to move house so that might cause some delays (or it might give me time without distraction to write, guess we will just have to see). Thanks for reading, I always love your reviews negative or positive, its just great to see people invested in the story.  
Next time: Duel of fates! and a Daughters revenge! **


	12. Part 10

Ruby flew through the inferno that the graveyard had become. Spiralling through wreckage she spared the _Glatteis_ glances when she could, horrified to see its hull being burnt black. Chunks of debris tore through sections of he hull, leaving gaping wounds all over the ship. The Grand Moff's star destroyer fared only a little better, its hull appearing to be ever so slightly, less shredded.

"What are we doing Ruby?" Sun asked, strain clearly present in his voice as he too tried not to be hit or to hit by anything.

"Just hold on Ace two, uh, we're going to attack the enemy star destroyer!" Ruby said with sudden conviction.

"Attack it? Shouldn't we be defending the _Glatteis?_ "

"There's," Ruby paused, dreading saying the words, "Nothing we can do for her… I mean them." The comms fell silent, but all the fighters began making their way towards the damaged Imperial star destroyer.

* * *

"Fire everything! We have to destroy him before he can destroy us!" Weiss cried as she desperately held onto one of the nearby consoles, the ship shaking violently. The lights had dimmed, replaced by a sinister red glow emanating from hundreds of warnings. The few guns that still could, fired, many shots being intercepted by the chaotically drifting shrapnel. Any shot that got through burned through the enemy hull, searing the thick bulkhead into a red hot liquid. Sadly her fathers guns still fired as well, his guns also tearing away the remnants of her hull. "Weiss! The reactor is beginning to malfunction, if we keep pouring power into the guns it could overload," Ren warned, clearly out of breath as he raced around the engineering room. Weiss tightened her grip on the console, knuckles growing white. "Stop firing! Ren, do we have any engine capabilities?"

"The engines took some hits but I should be able to safely power them, but we are not going to be very fast." Weiss sighed,

"Do what you can. Helm take us as far away from that ship as possible,"

"Ma'am we can't take too many more hits, I don't think we will be able to get out in time," The officer said as nervous sweat rolled down his face.

"Do what you can, we can only hope we get lucky now. Comms, contact Ace squadron, tell them to leave,"

"Sorry captain but we have lost communications, and I can't pick up Ace squadrons signatures, though," the ship quaked violently as another turbolaster bolt hit it, "that might be because our sensors are also down."

Weiss stared at her fathers ship, on the verge of tears as she faced defeat. Ruby had to be alive, she was too good a pilot to be taken down by a lucky bit of debris. Though, Weiss, ever the rationalist, accepted the possibility that the woman she loved had just died. Her eye twitched, lips curving into a menacing frown. "Ren, put all the energy into out weapons,"

"But-"

"Ren, just do it, running isn't and option. At least this way my father goes down with his ship as well."

* * *

Cinder started moving, twin sabers falling into her hands. Blake and Yang backed up, both desperate to find another exit, only to find that they were trapped. "We are going to have to fight her," Yang said as she shrugged off Blake's supporting arm, standing shakily and reigniting her lightsaber. "Yang, she is strong we have to be careful-" Yang rushed Cinder, swinging her blade down with all her strength. Cinder caught the yellow blade with both her sabers as Blake leapt into the fray beside Yang, quickly joining her friend. Cinder pushed Yang back and clashed blades with Blake, staying on the defensive, seizing up her opponent. Yang interjected with another heavy strike, Cinder ducking under this one and moving to avoid Blake's attacks. Still standing between the two and the exit, Cinder grinned. She moved to attack, pushing Yang away with the force, sending the already wounded Yang into the wall of the training room. Free to focus on Blake, Cinder stuck hard and fast.

Blake, used to fighting with two weapons, managed to predict most of Cinders attacks, but that didn't make it any less tiring to fend of the flurry of strikes. She found herself constantly throwing her weight left and right to block the next attack, her balance quickly failing.

Yang picked herself up and went to spear Cinder through the back, only to have the dark clad Inquisitor turn to swat her blade away and push her back into the wall. This time Yang collapsed, her head striking the metal wall. "Yang!" Blake cried as she pushed Cinder back with a newfound determination. "Your slipping Blake, if all it takes is a little push for you to return to your apparently, 'dark ways', have you really changed at all?"

"I changed enough to recognise how foolish you are for thinking you could ever control the Empire," Blake said as she twirled her lightsaber, Cinder throwing her head back to avoid the tip of the purple blade.

"So Adam told you of my plans, yet another reason why you can't be allowed to leave this facility," Cinder attacked now, using both her blades to attack at once. Blake gripped her Blade in both hands, feet planted firmly this time to weather the assault. "You have maintained your skill with the blade it seems, but if you rely so heavily upon it, you will fall," Cinder leapt into he air, bouncing off one of the columns and slashing down at Blake.

"If you rely so heavily on lecturing me you will run out of breath," Blake said as she held Cinders blades at bay. She spared a glance at Yang, still sitting with eyes closed against the wall.

"You have feelings for that girl, they are distracting you, just like how Adam used to distract you. You truly are hopeless," Cinder chuckled as she kicked Blake in the stomach. Blake grunted and stumbled back, raising her lightsaber just in time to block Cinder's next blow. "You have so much fear, you fear for your friend, you even fear for Adam. Yet you refuse to turn that fear into strength. It is the same with all your kind, even Adam. You are weak, worthless creatures who, even given the knowledge of the universes ultimate power, still deny it,"

"Adam didn't deny it, and he didn't fare any better than you will," Blake said, now slightly out of breath. Cinder grinned, pacing carefully as she prepared to attack,

"You are mistaken, I told him to destroy you. Yet I know he offered you a chance to return, his blind devotion to you is what has driven him, given him purpose. It has also stopped him from truly becoming one of the Sith."

"You are no Sith Cinder, just a puppet like I was, like Adam was to you."

"Adam was nothing to me, but he was something to you once," Cinder smiled again, lowering her weapons. "You remember those times don't you, the years spent training, suffering so that you could become stronger. Adam protected you, but in the same instance would hurt you. Even still, you stuck by his side."

"I don't care about that anymore, he did it because you and Palpatine made him a monster, made me into one as well."

"Do you believe you can outgrow what you are? What if you hurt your friend?" Cinder said as she nodded over to Yang, "What if she hurts you? There is much anger in her, she could have become a power inquisitor, perhaps she still will." Blake lunged, teeth bared in defiance, anger and doubt clouding her mind. Cinder blocked the attack easily, feeling out Blake's mind with the force, forcing forward the surge of memories. Blake felt a blinding pain in her head, memories forcibly flashing before her eyes, memories of her torment. Visions of her trials, of her kills, even false visions of the future. She watched Yang turn to the darkside, she watched herself suffer at her lovers hands again. Blake dropped to the ground, crying out in pain as she clutched her head, Cinder standing dominantly over her quivering body.

"Stop it. Now." Yang said as she slowly stood. Cinder turned, eyebrow raised in surprise. Blake fell silent, though still lay clutching her head, sobbing. "Impressive. You are very tenacious,"

"Most folk just call me stubborn," Yang said, eyes still staring daggers at the inquisitor. Yang made no move to attack, her lightsaber still sitting inactive in her hand.

"You really think you stand a chance?" Cinder asked curiously. Yang shook her head,

"You would probably kill me, but Blake is leaving this place alive."

"Let's say I have my doubts about that," Cinder said as she moved a step closer to Blake. Yang took a step forward in response, heading to stand in between the two.

"Are you really going to let her die?" Yang asked,

"No, I am going to purposefully kill her," Cinder said in confusion.

"After all you have been through, after all you did to her, are you not going to at least try to make amends. Prove you're not a monster,"

"I have nothing to prove to anyone," Cinder growled. Yang smiled, looking past the angry inquisitor. Cinder turned her head to see a familiar red visor glaring back at her. Leant against one of the rooms columns, one hand clutching the wound in his stomach, the other, clutching his lightsaber. "Adam, good, I will let you deal with her," Cinder said as she pointed a saber at Yang, "Then you can take Blake to do with whatever you wish."

"You won't let her go, you just want her dead," he replied in a husky voice, his face a mask of pain.

"Does it matter? She is a traitor, she betrayed you,"

"She did what she had too," Yang interjected, Adam nodding solemnly.

"You are the betrayer, you made it your speciality, I doubt I would have even survived a week before you got rid of me," Adam said softly. Cinder only glared in response, not bothering to respond. "At least this way, I get.. I get to give her the life she wants," Adam looked down at Blake, pain slowly draining from his face. Yang lent down to pick her up, causing Cinder to return her stare to them. Adam ignited his lightsaber, drawing her attention back to him. Taking his last look at Blake's face, Adam tore off his visor, revealing his blinded eyes. "Take care of her, better care than I did," Adam said before charging Cinder, any discomfort from his previous wound disappearing as he engaged Cinder with incredible ferocity.

Yang held Blake in her arms, quickly rushing past the pair of inquisitors as they fought, making a hasty exit from the training room. "Adam…" Blake whispered, tears still streaming from her eyes as she recovered from the forcibly afflicted pain and visions. "It's okay Blake, shhh, he's saving us, saving you." Yang rushed them through the facility, heading back towards the surface. She stopped quickly as she heard the sounds of boots hurrying down an adjacent hallway. Ducking into the shadows Yang hoped that they weren't stormtroopers and that they hadn't seen her.

"Yang!" Velvet cried as she rounded the corner and saw the poorly concealed Yang.

"Velvet, thank the stars you're here,"

"What happened?" Velvet asked as she stared wide eyed at Blake bundled in Yang's arms.

"Ran into some old friends of Blake's, did you manage to rescue everyone?" Velvet didn't need to answer as a group of prisoners ran past her, followed by the remaining Faunus soldiers. The soldiers stopped beside Velvet and fired their blasters back down the hallway. "We need to keep moving!" One of the soldiers called to Velvet as red blaster bolts slammed into the walls around him. Velvet pushed Yang and Blake towards the exit,

"Go, we will hold them back,"

"Get back to the ship as soon as you can, I'll start the engines," Yang replied as she raced towards the exit.

* * *

"My lord we have sustained significant damage, if we prolong this engagement the ship will likely be destroyed."

"Then let us end it, fire at will, destroy that ship." The Grand Moff replied, a grim look on his face. Weiss wasn't running, she was coming directly at him, remaining guns blazing. It was a suicidal move, like his destruction of the graveyard had been. It was all too likely that they would both end up as additions to the now depleted field of derelict craft. He had expected cowardice, his move had cost them, the extensive damage meant that both of the craft were hanging precariously onto life. Too much hesitation, too much inaction, too much doubt would destroy either of them. Yet Weiss appeared to push forward,

"Target their remaining guns, we can't take much more of a beating," Weiss said as she pointed towards the rows of missile bays she new sat on either side of the star destroyer. "And move towards their port side, Ace squadrons bombing run took out most of their guns on that side, my fathers own attack likely destroyed the rest." The officers nodded, and the ship began drifting slowly.

"Weiss we have maybe ten minutes before the reactor overloads," Ren warned.

"It will have to be enough," Weiss whispered to herself, not wanting to confirm the crews likely fear that this would end up as a suicide run. She had no doubt they knew deep in their hearts that this attack would be their last, this is after all what they had agreed to do, the sacrifice they had been willing to make. It was however, best not to say these things out loud.

"Captain! Look over there!" One of the officers cried excitedly. Weiss spun to look at whatever the officer was pointing at, "It's Ace squadron!" Weiss stood slack jawed, relived that they had survived.

Ruby fired indiscriminately at the hull of the Imperial star destroyer. Chunks of superheated metal flew away as each shot landed. Her laser cannons ability to injure the destroyer were limited, but with the damage it had already sustained she had a few more weak points to explore. "Ace six, target those holes with whatever ordinance you have left, Ace two and three focus on those missile bays. Then follow me" Ruby received the affirmative from each of her squamates before breaking off her attack run, darting up towards the command tower.

* * *

"Sir, the enemy fighters are attacking! One is making for the command tower!"

"Focus forward firepower, I don't want it getting through, make sure the bridge defectors are at full capacity," Grand Moff Schnee commanded. He spied the fighter on his tactical display, the tiny wedge shaped ship managing to move through the blaster fire with ease. Even if the fighter still had missiles, they wouldn't be enough to take down the fully power bridge deflectors, the last operational defectors of the entire ship. It appeared to be nothing more than a distraction. "Status report on the enemy capital ship," Schnee commanded, a readout appearing on his screen.

"Their reactor is on the verge of overloading, and their weapon systems are nearly completely offline. Their communications are offline as well, "

"It appears she will be unable to beg forgiveness after all. It matters not, she had her chance to surrender."

* * *

Ruby made another pass of the command tower, blasting away at the shields. Behind her the rest of Ace squadron did the same, sending bolt after bolt of red laser into the tower. Switching over to her last set of cluster missiles Ruby targeted the bridge directly, she couldn't destroy the shields with one blast, but she could weaken it. Sending a stream of missiles into the tower, the defectors glowed a soft pink, a sign of great strain. Ruby noticed more guns immediately targeting her ships, streams of green blaster fire now arcing up towards her fighter. "I think we got their attention now," Sun commented as he spun his fighter through a series of shots. Ruby glanced down at her power levels, noticing the dangerously low amount she had left. "How much juice do you guys have left?" Ruby asked,

"I'm nearly empty," Neptune replied

"I have had to power down my turret, don't have much left in me," Nora said in a sad tone.

"Running on fumes over here," Sun said nervously as he was forced into another roll. Ruby girt her teeth, eyes darting over the numerous wounds on the _Glatteis_.

"Go, all of you, make the jump to the Rendezvous. No arguments, it's not worth you guys dying here,"

"Not leaving you behind again Ruby," Sun said firmly.

"I'll see you back at the fleet, I still have plenty of power," Ruby said as she glanced down at the power levels, confirming her lie. "I just need to give Weiss an opening. Now go," Ruby commanded, swinging her fighter back around for her final pass.

"If you don't come back Ruby, so help me," Sun said in frustration, already moving out of the debris field. "I will, see you on the other side," Ruby said assuringly.

Free of the worry she had for her squadmates, Ruby charged the star destroyer. As before several guns focused on her, breaking away from firing at the _Glatteis._ She grinned as she diverted the last of her power into her engines, feeling the thrill of the intense speed of her interceptor. Aiming for the bridge Ruby's hand drifted towards the ejection lever. "I'm sorry to do this sweetheart, but it's for Weiss." Ruby quickly strapped the breather onto her face and pulled the level, the canopy flying open and Ruby shooting out into space. The A-wing flew like an arrow, hitting the bullseye of the bridge with deadly accuracy. In an instant the fighter disintegrated against the deflector shield, though now the pinkish glow returned, only this time it reached a crescendo and burst like a bubble. Ruby drifted off, away from the fight and strapped to her chair, hoping that Weiss would take the shot that her beautiful fighter had sacrificed to make.

Weiss felt a chill run through her as she watched Ruby's A-wing explode against her fathers bridge defector shields. "R-ruby…" Weiss whimpered, hands quivering as she saw her worst fears confirmed.

"Weiss, the reactor is about to overload, you have maybe two minutes now, I'm evacuating everyone down here."

"O-ok," Weiss whispered, the dread and fear compounding, freezing her in place. Just as quickly as the fear came, it left, the cold replaced by a burning anger. The waver in her voice disappeared, "All crew make for the escape pods, except main gunnery team, you have one last task before leaving." Weiss shooed away the last of the bridge crew, going to stand by the main turbo laser control panel. "Gunnery team one, switch fire to target the enemies bridge, but redirect the controls back to the bridge for the final shot." Weiss waited until the controls confirmed that her orders had been followed. A deafening crack broke the silence of the abandoned bridge, and Weiss looked out to see a large chunk of her ship floating away. "Goodbye father," Weiss said bitterly pressing down hard on the fire controls.

* * *

"Damn fool rebel!" Schnee cursed as the debris of the fighter drifted out of the way of his view.

"Sir the bridge defectors are gone!" An officer said as he subconsciously backed out of the room.

"Re-power those shields now!" The Grand Moff shouted as he stood from his chair eyes wide as he watched the last turbolaser batterie on the _Glatteis_ swivel towards his bridge. "Where are my shields!"

"S-sir the explosions, t-the detonation of the other ships that is, extensively damaged our generators, we c-can't get power back to the shields without more time." The officer ran off as soon as he finished, leaving the Grand Moff standing alone in the exposed bridge.

"Well played Weiss, I guess we both go down with our ships."

Grand Moff Schnee watched with a tired, irritated expression as the blue turbolaser bolt slammed through the bridge.

* * *

Adam slowed quickly, his burst of ferocity fading as the pain returned to his wound. It didn't matter though, Blake was safe for now. Cinder attacked, her twin, blazing red blades quickly pushing Adam back against the wall. "You think this matters? You think this makes you a better person? You are still weak and pathetic,"

"Nothing matters anymore, and strength doesn't make me a good person."

Cinder scowled, giving up on the pathetically dedicated fool. With a quick flick of her wrist Cinder managed to knock Adam's blade to the side, giving her other blade easy access to his hand. With a slash Adam's hand came free. Collapsing to the ground, Adam felt all energy drain from him, the pain finally overwhelming his senses. "You could have had so much, yet you sacrificed it all for a traitor. How disappointing," Cinder swung her blade through Adam, his face set in a defiant smile as he died.

* * *

Yang watched as Velvet raced out of the bunker. The Faunus with her fired back at the stormtroopers who were beginning to emerge behind them. Yang wished that the transport had weapon systems so she could blast the infernal prison into nothingness. As the last Faunus stepped aboard the transport Yang lifted it off the ground, the stormtroopers below taking pointless shots at the ships underside. Yang glanced to her side to see Blake still huddled in her seat, her eyes blank and glassy. "It's okay Blake, we made it out, we rescued everyone,"

"There was good in him Yang," Blake said ignoring Yang's statement, "I should have tried harder to bring him back. We could have all escaped."

"All that matters is that in the end he did what was right, maybe its not enough to redeem him for all he did, but he gave you the chance to do it for him."

Blake sat silently, taking in Yang's words. She had felt him die, but instead of guilt or sadness, she felt a great relief. Adam was in a better place, and at the end he had proved that deep down, he wasn't a monster. "Now let's get these people off this rock, I'm sure Weiss and Ruby are already preparing the victory celebration."

* * *

Weiss raced down the empty hallways, sparks flying from almost every console and light on the ship. By this point everyone else had abandoned ship, safely flying away in their escape pods. That left only Weiss aboard her crumbling ship. Every corner, every intersection was slowly being littered with collapsing walls and ceilings. It became quickly apparent that Weiss wouldn't be able to make it to the escape pods in time. So she changed direction, now making for the main hangar bay.

Running into the open hangar Weiss heard the sirens blare, signalling the reactors imminent explosion. Weiss scanned the hangar quickly, eyes landing on the Yang's freighter. Dashing up the ramp and into the cockpit, Weiss started the ships engines.

Trying to push the ship out of the hangar Weiss encountered her first problem, an apparent mass of ceiling having apparently collapsed on top of the back half of the ship. With a groan and the scraping of metal on metal, the freighter inched forward. Warnings started flaring up on the _Ember's_ control panels as the ship scanned high levels of leaking radiation from the reactor. "Blast it! Move you piece of junk!" Weiss shouted as she slammed a fist against the controls, the ship suddenly shooting forward, breaking free of the collapsed ceiling.

Flying free Weiss encountered her second problem, the ventral hangars doors were shut. Quickly she switched the turrets control over to the cockpit, firing a quick burst into the hangar bay doors. The already heavily damaged hull broke away with ease and Weiss shot out of the _Glatteis._

The ships sensors flared up again as the reactor exploded, cracking the Venator class cruiser in two. In front of her sat her fathers ship, blackened, cracked and as lifeless as her own ship. She watched as several escaped pods jettisoned from the now derelict craft. It seemed that the graveyard was already being replenished with two new ships. Scanning her fathers ship to make sure it was lifeless Weiss picked up a destress signal. Her eyes widened as she realised that it was coming from an ejected Rebel pilot, designation; Ace one. Weiss flew the ship towards the solitary, floating figure, excitedly opening the ramp and closing the airlock doors. Manoeuvring the freighter carefully, Weiss managed to catch Ruby. The ramp shut and the airlock opened. Weiss didn't dare leave the controls until they were safely out of the graveyard, but unconsciously she spun her chair slightly, hoping Ruby would run in any second.

"Weiss!" Ruby shouted as she raced towards the cockpit,

"Ruby!" Weiss replied finally taking her focus away from flying. Ruby slammed into Weiss, enveloping her in a desperate hug. In a second the two found themselves with lips locked, tears of joy and relief rolling down their cheeks. "We did it," Ruby said with a sigh of relief

"It's finally over, he's gone."

"Sorry about you ship," Ruby said sympathetically.

"Sorry about yours, your sacrifice won us the battle. I know you cared a lot about that fighter,"

"It was worth it." Ruby kissed Weiss again, coming to rest her head against the white haired girls shoulder. Weiss quickly initiated the hyperspace jump, arm reaching out behind Ruby to push the lever forward.

* * *

Yang pulled the ship out of hyperspace. Blake slowly opened her eyes, having slept through most of the jump. The Rendezvous area was populated by several escape pods and the fighters of Ace squadron. Yang noticed immediately that Ruby's fighter was missing. "This is Yang, we made it back with the Faunus, where's Weiss' battleship? Where's Ruby?" Yang said in a panic, eyes desperately trying to find the small red fighter.

"Yang, it's Ren here. The _Glatteis_ was destroyed, we don't know if Weiss got off in time."

"What about Ruby, where is she!?"

"She ordered us to leave," Sun said glumly,

"The sensors were down at the time, but we are confident that…" Ren paused, sadness creeping into his usually emotionless tone.

"What Ren, tell me," Yang said forcefully,

"She is believed to have crashed her fighter into the bridge deflectors of the enemy ship, to allow us to fire on them and disable the star destroyer."

Yang sank down in her seat. Blake rested an arm on her shoulder, "Search your feelings Yang, you would have felt it if she had died." Yang pondered the point for a moment, closing her eyes and reaching out as her father had taught her. "She's out there, I can feel her… She's close?" Yang said with confusion. A second later the _Ember_ materialised off to the transports starboard side.

"Captain Schnee and Commander Rose reporting in," Weiss' said uncharacteristically cheerfully. The comms erupted into a series of cheers, Yang being one of the louder voices.

"You guys made it! And you brought my ship back!"

"I decided that we had left enough ships behind in that scrap heap. Your's just happened to be the closest at the time."

"Sure, sure, if you're trying to impress me then you have succeeded, sadly I'm not interested, Ruby would be too jealous," Yang teased. Weiss' face turned a bright red and Ruby laughed before leaning over to the comms.

"Yang, did you manage to find General Ozpin down on the planet? They sent him down there rather than keep him on the star destroyer."

"I'll check," Blake said quickly, climbing down the thin ladder to the main cargo area of the transport. Sitting beside Velvet, engaged in what appeared to be a cheerful conversation, looking more haggard that Blake had seen him before, sat General Ozpin. It was also the first time she had seen him without his glasses. "General," Blake said as she moved through the incredibly crowded hold of the ship, the crowds parting respectfully for their saviour.

"Ms Belladonna, I hear it is you and Ms Xiao Long that led this rescue attempt. Ms Scarletina here has told it was you that proposed the rescue, I owe you my thanks."

"Not at all sir, we were only doing what was right."

"Be that as it may, it took incredible cunning, sacrafice and daring in order to attempt this mission. Captain Schnee, Commander Rose and you and Ms Xiao Long are a truly remarkable team," Ozpin stood and shook Velvet's hand, "Let us not forget the bravery of your people as well, I'm certain the Alliance would be proud to fight beside such dedicated warriors." Velvet blushed, the confidence she had found in battle disappearing and being replaced by her usual quiet timidness. "If you wouldn't mind taking me to the bridge of this ship," Ozpin said addressing Blake, "I would very much like to thank everyone personally."

Weiss and Ruby were busy picking up what crew they could carry on the _Ember_ from the group of escape pods when Ozpin's voice came through the speakers. "This is General Ozpin. I wish to thank each and every one of you for your incredible bravery in attempting this mission."

"It was nothing, pretty standard stuff for me at least," Yang said non-chalantly, putting her feet up on the dashboard of the transport.

"She's right sir," Ruby said quickly, "We are used to this kind of thing, it's not the first fighter I have lost,"

"It's not the first star destroyer that I have lost either," Weiss said humorously. The General smiled,

"Well in that case I believe a celebration and reward are not needed, this being standard fare for you." Yang sat up immediately,

"Reward?"

* * *

Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang stood proudly at the front of the main hangar of the Mon Calamari battlecruiser _Vale._ Instead of the usual parade of ships, there was a large assembly of personnel. In front of the group stood General Ozpin, once again dressed in his officers uniform, spectacles sitting comfortably on the bridge of his nose. Beside him stood his second in command, Captain Glynda Goodwitch. Like on the _Glatteis_ when Weiss had addressed the crew, Ozpin stood on a makeshift podium. "Soldiers of the Alliance, we are here today to honour the bravery of those who came to my rescue, and that of the enslaved Faunus. Captain Weiss Schnee," Ozpin said as he regarded Weiss with a wave of his hand. "For your excellent command of the mission to defeat Grand Moff Schnee, we thank you." Glynda stepped forward and placed a medal upon Weiss' uniform. "Commander Ruby Rose and the rest of Ace squadron, for their truly daring piloting in the face of insurmountable odds." Once again a medal was placed on Ruby's flight suit, a small box filled with identical medals was also given, to be handed out to the rest of Ace squadron. "Finally, Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna. While not officially part of the Alliance, you have proved to be great allies many times over. Leading the assault on the prison in which I and the Faunus were held was something no one could have asked you to do. Yet you volunteered to help those in need, despite the great risk to yourselves. You may not be Rebels, but you embody everything that we strive to be."

As the last medal was attached to Yang's jacket the group turned, looking out over the small crowd which had assembled. Ruby smiled at her squadron, now back at full strength with Pyrrha and Jaune. Weiss regarded those who had served as her crew with a firm, encouraging nod. Yang gave a mock salute to Ren and Penny. Blake smiled proudly at the assembly of the now official Faunus commando team, lead by Velvet.

The crowd broke into thunderous applause. Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang all shared knowing looks, smiles and laughs as they were soon engulfed by their friends for a series of hugs, handshakes and cheers.

* * *

Ruby ended up standing alone in the hangar. The procession and small celebration had ended, and most people had retired to bed. "Thought I would find you here," Weiss said, startling the daydreaming Ruby.

"Oh, hey there, yeah just thought I would watch the stars for a bit."

"Mind if I join?" Weiss asked, only to have Ruby wrap an arm around her and bring her closer. The two looked out over the full Rebel fleet, and magnificent backdrop of the stars behind them.

"Are they giving you a new command?"

"Yes, it's a smaller ship, but it's better than nothing."

"Try not to lose this one to mutiny, or explosions," Ruby teased. Weiss rolled her eyes,

"Only if you manage to not fly your fighter into another Imperial bridge or crash it in a terribly hot desert,"

"Deal."

* * *

Blake fell back onto her bunk, the datapad landing beside her. It felt surprisingly good to be back aboard the _Ember._ "Blake? Blake you in here?" Yang called as she walked onboard.

"In here Yang," Blake replied, slowly rising to a sitting position. Yang entered the room, head held high and medal still emblazoned on her jacket. "Are you ever going to take that thing off?"

"Nope, never had a medal before. Dunno how the Rebels got such a pretty one too, can't believe they expect everyone to just put them away somewhere not to be seen." Blake smiled at Yang's roundabout logic. "What have you got there?" Yang said as she nodded towards the datapad.

"Orders from Ozpin," Blake said purposefully not making a big deal out of it.

"Uh, what? I don't think he can give us orders, on account of us not being apart of this whole Rebellion thing."

"I'm staying Yang," Blake said, hints of nervousness in her voice. Yang froze, staring at Blake, who didn't dare meet Yang's eyes.

"I thought we were staying away to keep everyone safe, from the Inquisitors tracking us,"

"I don't think that will be an issue anymore. With Adam and Neo gone, Cinder will probably have to face Vader and he is not one to simply accept failure. With them all gone, there aren't many Inquisitors left, let alone competent ones. Now my people are here, and I think it's best if I stay and help them." Yang sat down on the bed beside Blake, resting her head against the wall. "I understand if you want to go, you have never been one for rules and regulations but," Blake paused, embarrassed to say anymore. Yang smirked, "But you want me to stay, that's it isn't it?"

"Well, yes, I mean you are a very capable warrior and-"

"And a very capable lover, definitely someone you don't want to let out of your sight."

"Yang, please, what I am trying to say is-"

"That you love me." The room fell into silence, Blake unable to find any words to either dispute the accusation or agree. Yang turned her head to look at Blake, the cocky smile infuriatingly still there, "Well, guess that settles it. You make a very convincing argument, so I'll stay," Yang crept closer, inching across the bed. "Just for you, maybe Ruby as well, but mostly for you," Yang kissed her lightly on the lips, the light touch drawing Blake in, forcing herself forward for more. "Guess you could say I love you too." With that the two embraced each other strongly, sharing a deep and desperate kiss.

* * *

 _Several Months later…_

"Take evasive action, Green group stick close to holding section MV-Seven!"

"Admiral! We have enemy ships in sector forty seven!"

" It's a trap!"

Weiss cursed under her breath, "Bank left as hard as possible, do not let us hit that shield!" Weiss dashed over to the communications console, "Ace squadron move to intercept enemy fighters in sector forty seven."

"Copy that _Whiterose,_ moving to attack position," Ruby replied.

"Why can't anything every go according to plan!" Sun said in frustration,

"Because if it did we wouldn't have any eyeballs to practice on and would probably be pretty average pilots," Ruby replied sarcastically.

"Stay focused," Weiss interjected, "We won't get another shot at this, and if we fail then the Rebellion falls, and any hope of peace or freedom with it."

Ruby took a deep breath, nodding along to Weiss' words. "For the Rebellion," she said calmly,

"For the Rebellion," Weiss replied. Clasping her hands behind her back and raising her chin, "Here we go again."

* * *

 **BOOM! Episode 2 down. Managed to smash this one out while moving this week, turned out to be a welcome relief to lifting furniture up three flights of stairs. Thanks for sticking around and reading, as I say constantly I absolutely love this story. Thus, fear not wonderful people, Episode 3 is coming. Until that time however, may the force be with you.**


	13. Interlude 1

**Unknown Planet…**

 **Five years before the Episode 1…**

 **Blake:**

The mist curled around her like ghostly tendrils, wispy hands reaching out to drag her under. Each step she took resulted in a soft splash, the cold water rising just past her ankles. She had gotten separated from Adam and Neo what seemed like hours ago. She had to find the Jedi first, lest she disappoint the Grand Inquisitor or Cinder. Years of training, all for this moment, to prove she could be a real Inquisitor.

Blake's head snapped to the left as she heard splashes. Sliding her feet across the ground as to not make any noise, Blake pursued her prey. Letting out a deep breath through her nose, mist dissipating around her face, Blake sent her mind outwards. It was him, the Jedi padawan who had escaped the other Inquisitors, her target,she could taste his fear. The mist swirled in front of her and she pounced, igniting her lightsaber as she gleamed the robed figure in the fog.

He turned to her, eyes wide as he awkwardly raised his own lightsaber. Blake pushed it away with ease, gritting her teeth as she used her desperation, her anger to enhance her strikes. The promise of good food, a proper bed and rest, security, propelled her forwards. Each strike sent the padawan stumbling back, splashing through the murky water. Blake's glowing eyes, combined with the dark hood and snarling teeth, made the padawan shiver with fear.

Blake was suddenly flung by an unknown force, not born of the padawan's power, clearly having not had enough training to be able to overcome Blake. Crashing down into the water Blake yelped, the cold sending icy jolts through her body. Another saber appeared in the mists, red like Blake's. The fog parted as Adam dashed towards the already overwhelmed apprentice. Once again the Jedi managed to raise his saber to defend himself, barely.

Adam's eyes, like Blake's, glowed a sinister yellow. Adam slammed his horned head into the padawan's, eliciting a cry of pain from the stunned Jedi. Blake jumped to her feet, reigniting her blade and rushing towards the fight. Blake dropped her shoulder and charged the padawan who was busy holding off Adam's saber. Both Adam and the apprentice saw her just before she slammed into them, knocking both to the ground. The padawan's saber fell from his hand as he hit the ground, opening him up for a final strike from Blake. Raising her blade above her head, elated as she felt victory within her grasp, she swung down. Just before the tip of her blade passed through his body, Blake felt her throat tighten and her arms freeze. Her eyes darted over to Adam, his arm raised and curled as if he was strangling her himself. Her eyes pleaded with him, begging for him to let her win. "He's mine," Adam growled before throwing Blake aside.

The padawan scrambled on hands and knees through the shallow water, desperately searching for his lightsaber. Adam twirled his own as he stood, eyes locked onto his prey. Before he even took a step, a silent figure appeared before the scrambling padawan, a sadistic smile on her face. Neo ignited her saber and plunged it through the unsuspecting apprentices chest.

Blake watched as her hopes for a warm meal and a real bed were dashed before her eyes. She looked over to Adam, who stood motionless, staring at the girl who had taken away his kill, his victory.

* * *

Blake sat huddled in the corner of her room. It was a small, grey room, with just enough space for a sliding metal slab that was her bed and little else. As before, she had failed in the task given to her. Those who succeeded received blankets, pillows, hot food and a warm shower, bacta if they needed it and whatever luxuries the overseers of the Inquisitorius decided to bestow upon the victor. Adam walked into the open doorway of her room, casually tossing her some scrap of food. "Eat, I managed to take some of the food Neo didn't eat,"

"T-thank you," Blake said softly as she went about devouring the food. "Why did you stop me, I though you said we were in this… together," Blake said with downcast eyes, not wanting to meet Adam's pitying gaze.

"We are the last of our kind, we have to become powerful. Only the strongest survive, take your defeat and learn from it." Without another word he left.

Even though he had stopped her from succeeding, even though he had hurt her, he was the only one who cared. The others went off by themselves, not interacting with the other initiates, lest they start to care about any of the others like them, for ultimately they knew they would have to kill them. Adam was Blake's link to her past, the only other Faunus she knew that had survived the Imperial bombardment. Without him, she would have starved, gone mad from isolation, died. Every time he hurt her, she learnt from it. Every time he helped her, she grew stronger. One day they would be real Inquisitors, both of them, she could finally be his equal, and they would become real team. One that could take on the galaxy. All she needed to do, was survive.

* * *

 **Imperial training facility S-247…**

 **Two years before the events of Episode 1…**

 **Ruby:**

"Escape?" Ruby said with awe, eyeing Coco with suspicion. Coco leant back in her chair, nodding confidently, the small confines of their shared room allowing for her to lean against the wall.

"Look, I know you were conscripted, I also know you have a track record of 'disagreements' with some of the instructors."

"Well, yeah, I mean, you can totally pull off a Talon turn in a TIE fighter, you just have to be, I dunno,"

"Good enough?" Coco finishing Ruby's thought. Ruby nodded sheepishly, concealing a smile as she remembered the look on the instructors face when she had made the difficult move look easy. That was only the most recent 'disagreement' that Ruby had had with the Imperial instructors. "You prove you know what you doing, you prove you can think for yourself, then you get punished for it," Coco sighed. "You're too good for this place, we both are. Besides, the Empire isn't exactly something I can see myself dying for." Ruby nodded, memories of her mother flashing through her mind. They had taken her away, sent her off to some prison in one of the far reaches of the galaxy, and had begun Ruby's indoctrination. For whatever reason, the brainwashing never took hold, it took Ruby a few months to realise though, that it was better to pretend it had. She had only found freedom in flying, and apparently had quite the natural talent for it, so naturally found her way to an Imperial flight academy. "So what do you say? The next training flight comes up in a few days. All we have to do is make our exit at the right time."

"I'm supposed to be flying a TIE, I won't have a hyperdrive,"

"Well I'm flying the Gozanti, all you have to do is dock with me and I can jump us out of the system, then we are free to go wherever we wish, fly whatever and for whomever we want." Ruby nodded slowly, thinking over the plan.

"What will you do, once we have escaped?" Ruby asked, Coco only shrugged,

"I'll probably try to find a freighter or something to sign on with, see the galaxy, make some money. What about you?"

"I-I think, I'll try and join the Rebellion." Coco's eyes widened in surprise,

"Wow, I thought the plan was to get out of the military, get away from the fighting."

"I don't care about the fighting, I just want to fight for the right reasons, and the right people." Coco raised her glass in salute,

"Well your braver and crazier than I am, but good luck to you. good luck to us."

* * *

"As punishment for your previous show of defiance, and reckless risk of Imperial property, you will be flying the transport for this practical lesson." The instructor said as he stared down at Ruby. Ruby's eyes darted over to Coco who just nodded, confirming that the escape would continue. "Cadet Adel, you will as a result be flying in a TIE fighter,"

"Yes sir," Coco grumbled, hoping this would be the only hiccup in the plan.

* * *

The clunky fighter transport ship was much too slow for Ruby's taste. She was also irritated by the fact that she was under the constant scrutiny of the instructor. While she had no more tasks to complete, having calculated and made the jump to hyperspace and deployed the fighters in the training area, his gaze never left her. Nervously Ruby again checked to see whether or not Coco had made the signal to begin the escape. More than anything Ruby wanted this to be all over and done with, she wanted to be free, finally able to fight back, find her mother and avenge her father. First though, she would have to deal with the instructor.

"Cadet Adel, you are veering too far from the training course, please return to your assigned task."

"No can do sir," Coco said over the comms, her smile obvious from the sound of her voice, "Let's do this Ruby." The instructor turned to look at Ruby with a scrutinising stare, still unaware of Coco'c intentions.

"What is going on?" He asked as he began to rise form his chair. Ruby leapt up first, grabbing the hydrospanner she had kept on her for this very moment. With as strong a swing as she could muster, Ruby swung the spanner into the instructors face, knocking him to the ground. Quickly taking her seat again Ruby re-opened the comm channel, "Okay I knocked him out, I think. Dock as quickly as you can, I'll set the jump co-ordinates."

"On my way, just take us as far from here as you can,"

Ruby keyed the controls as quickly as she could, the navicomputer finally accepting the input. In front of her she could see Coco's TIE fighter approaching, the others currently blissfully unaware of the escape that was going on. Behind her she heard shuffling, just in time to see the instructor reach for the other comm controls, "All pilot's, Cadet's Rose and Adel are attempting to desert, destroy them-" The instructor was cut off as Ruby hit him again, this time on the back of the head.

"Uh, Coco, we have a problem,"

"Yeah I heard," Coco said gravely, already preparing to avoid the incoming fire from the other cadets that had quickly turned to pursue her. Ruby froze as her fingers reached for the turret controls. The other cadets quickly swarmed Coco, sending streams of green laser fire towards her fighter, which was currently rolling haphazardly to avoid being hit. "Ruby! A little help!" Ruby snapped herself out of it, she may have known the other pilots, the cadets, but this was do or die. Squeezing down on the controls her twin turret fired, the large bursts of energy quickly dispersing the cadets, purposefully not hitting any. "Come on Coco! Just a little further!" Ruby shouted as she watched the energy bolts fly dangerously close to Coco's fighter. Ruby hit the fire controls again, once again managing to disperse the fighters.

Coco slowed as she flew under the Gozanti transport, quickly aligning herself with the docking tube. "Docking now, prepare to make the jump-" Coco's fighter shook as a lucky shot clipped one of her wings. Smashing into one of the docking tubes she was sent spinning off course, desperately wrenching the controls to try and regain control.

"Coco! Are you there!"

"Still alive, barely," Coco said through gritted teeth. Ruby fired her gun again, sending a now continuous stream of fire towards the oncoming fighters. Now in range they fired back.

"I'm taking hits, get back here quickly!"

"Afraid I might be stuck Ruby, one of my Ion engines is completely fired… Get out of here, before those fighters rip you apart as well."

"Coco!"

"Just go Ruby, nothing you can do for me. Good luck with the Rebellion, if you ever find the time, come and break me out of whatever prison they put me in." Ruby felt tears forming in her eyes as Coco cut off communication. The TIE's were finally close enough to make a pass, spewing bolts of energy into her deflector shields. Ruby gripped the controls tightly, fighting down the anger she felt bubbling inside her. Snapping off a few shots, now aiming directly at the enemy TIE's, Ruby vaporised a pari of them easily. If only she had been flying the TIE she might have been able to outrun the other cadets. Engaging the hyperdrive controls Ruby watched with watery eyes as the stars extended into blue light. Her mother, her father, her sister, and now Coco, all victims of the Empire. All reasons to fight.

* * *

 **So here is the first of a few Interlude chapters that I will be working on until I begin writing Episode 3. Mostly they will be taking place in the past, before Episode 1 and between Episode 1 and 2. Just some fun character background and what not, will probably even have a chapter or two set just before Episode 3. If you guys enjoy these shorter snippets then be sure to leave a review or message me, likewise if you think I should set up a new story for these or dislike them. Thanks for reading and may the Force be with you all.**


	14. Interlude 2

**Tatooine…**

 **1 month before Episode 1…**

 **Yang:**

Yang pushed her speeder to the limit. The familiar whine of her bike signalled that it had reached its max speed, and the wind rushing through her hair, and sand flying out behind her, made her feel alive. Ahead of her, on a much larger speeder, was her longtime rivals, Miltiades and Melanie Malachite. Once again they had been competing for the same bounty, and unluckily for Yang they had beat her too it. Yang raised her blaster pistol and fired, the shot hitting the back of the open topped speeder. The bound and gagged bounty target fell back against Melanie, narrowly avoiding being hit. Yang cursed, the target specifically needing to be alive.

Melanie pushed her prisoner off and drew her own blaster pistol, firing back at Yang. Yang swerved to the right, easily avoiding the red bolts. Squeezing down on the accelerator Yang gained on the Malachite's speeder. Pulling up alongside them she she levelled her blaster and fired, Miltiades ducking down into the drivers seat. Melanie fired back at Yang, a chunk of her speeder bike flying away with a burst of sparks. Yang's bike rumbled, engines slowly failing. "That's not fair," Yang mumbled to herself as she ducked under another one of Melanie's blaster bolts. Holstering her own blaster Yang gave her engines one last push. With a jolt Yang pushed ahead of the sisters, before her engines erupted into sparks and black smoke. Jumping to her feet, balancing precariously on the shaking bike, Yang leapt onto the sisters speeder.

The bound prisoner stared up at the blonde with a surprisingly neutral expression. Yang ignored him and focused on not falling off the speeder. Miltiades slammed the controls to one side, tilting the speeder. Yang threw her hands out either side of herself and shuffled her feet to stay on balance, narrowly managing to stay on board. Melanie smiled as she raised her blaster, now only inches away from Yang.

Eye's flicking down to the blaster, barrel now right in front of her, Yang threw caution to the wind and kicked. The blaster was knocked to the side, the bolt punching a hole through Yangs flapping vest, but not hitting her person. Planting her foot back down on the speeders hull Yang slipped, foot sliding off the edge. Coming crashing down into the backseat of the speeder Yang quickly tried to reposition as to hopefully defend from the sisters attacks. Rising up off the floor of the speeder, Yang saw the blaster once again be levelled at her, only to have it this time be kicked aside by the prisoner that Yang was currently lying on top of. Melanie scowled desperately trying to get a shot off. Yang took her opportunity and jumped forward to grab Melanie's blaster. While the two wrestled for control of the weapon, Miltiades once again threw the speeder into evasive manoeuvres. Slamming against either side of the speeder as the pair were thrown back and forth, Yang managed to gain the upper hand and pry the blaster free. With the snap of her wrist, Yang brought the butt of the pistol down against Melanie's forehead, knocking her unconscious.

Miltiades looked back quickly, eyes wide with panic as she dared not let go of the controls. Yang smirked, looping an arm through the prisoners, "Better luck next time girls." Yang fired at the controls in Miltiades hands. Throwing the prisoner over the side of the moving speeder Yang waved a quick goodbye before jumping out herself. Tumbling against the sand Yang grunted, managing to catch a few more glimpses of the wildly swerving speeder as it spun out of control, before it disappeared over another dune.

Slowly getting to her feet Yang stretched out her back, ignoring the pain of jumping out of the speeder. Yang turned to look at her new prisoner as he slowly started to crawl away. Planting a firm foot on his back, Yang leant down, "Sorry buddy but I'll be the one taking you in now. Looks like we have a bit of a walk ahead of us." Lifting her prisoner off the ground Yang tucked the blaster she had taken from Melanie into the back of her pants. Prodding her bounty with her own blaster they began the long walk back to her ship.

After an hour of silence and sand Yang pulled the gag free from the prisoner. "So what's your deal? What did you do to get a ten thousand credit bounty?" Yang asked, trying to break up the monotony.

"Why do you care?" The prisoner said, lacking the usual accusatory tone,

"Just making conversation," Yang said as she appreciated the bounty's apparent lack of fear.

"I sliced into a Hutt's databank, saw some things he didn't want seen."

"Wow, talk about a bad idea," Yang said as she smirked, "So were you being paid to do it or are you just insane?"

"I didn't do it for money, so I guess I must be insane," the prisoner said dryly. Yang shook her head, smiling she asked,

"Seriously though, why?"

"Some things are worth more than money." This time the prisoners tone was laced with an accusation, causing Yang to frown.

"There isn't much in the galaxy worth more to me than credits,"

"Freedom, friends, family, there are many things more valuable than any sum of money."

Yang eyed her prisoner carefully, "What's your name?"

"They didn't have it on the bounty notice?"

"Nope, you managed to remain unnamed, they did have a pretty detailed holo of your face though."

The prisoner sighed, "I'm Ren,"

"I'm Yang. You seem like a nice guy, real sorry I have to bring you in," Yang said as she broke one of the primary rules of bounty hunting, don't get connected to your targets.

"You don't have to do it, you could let me go."

"Only if you can offer me something worth more than ten thousand credits," Yang said as her blaster slowly lowered from its position, planted in Ren's back.

"Well, I am a proficient slicer,"

"Don't need anything sliced sadly, try again." Ren seemed to mull something serious over in his mind, hesitantly looking Yang in the eye. "I… I work for the Rebel Alliance,"

"Fantastic, good job with that whole death star thing," Yang said sarcastically. Ren let out a single quiet laugh,

"Thanks, but I'm serious. The information I stole is vital to Rebel activities in this sector, lives are at stake."

Yang slowed, coming to a standstill in the sand. "A few months ago, I heard about a rebel pilot, a real good one. Her name is Ruby Rose," Yang said as she studied Ren's face for any sign of knowing.

"Ruby? Yeah I have heard of her, she is a friend of mine in fact." Yang froze, desperately searching for signs of lying.

"Red streaked hair? Silvery eyes?"

"Yes that's her, how do you know her?" Ren asked, Yang let out a laugh of disbelief,

"It can't really be her, not after all this time, it can't be this easy."

"If she's another one of your bounties I can't help you,"

"No you idiot, she's my sister."

Ren's eyebrows shot up as Yang leaped into he air and whooped, excitement finally overpowering her. "I heard about her a year ago, I thought she had been dead for years, but just hearing about this pilot I knew it must be her, that she was still alive. I've been trying to find her ever since, taking bounties to pay for information or bribe."

"Universe works in weird ways I guess,"

"Can you get a message to her? Can you tell me where she is?" Yang asked excitedly, Ren grimaced slightly,

"I'm technically a hidden cell, it's not easy to contact any other rebels, let alone a specific squadron."

"But you could do it?"

"It could take some time, but yes I could try." Without another word Yang blasted the cuffs on Ren's wrists. "Now, I'm letting you go, but you have to promise me that you will get me in contact with my sister."

"I promise that I will try,"

"Good enough." Yang hesitantly tossed Ren her spare blaster, "Take this, we might end up encountering some Tusken raiders before we get back to Mos Eisley and now I really need you to live." Both of them turned as they heard the ominous, and familiar call of the sandpeople. "Let's keep moving,"

"Good idea,"

"If we manage to make it back, I believe this could be the start of a long friendship Ren."

"Do all your friendships start like this?" Yang halted for a moment, eyes drifting off into the horizon,

"Actually, yeah, they all kinda start like this."

"Amazing," Ren said dryly, the two returning to their hike. Orange sun's setting on the horizon as the trudged through the sand.

* * *

 **Hoth…**

 **1 year before the events of Episode 3…**

 **Jaune:**

As the canopy of his X-wing closed, Jaune gulped back his rising fear. Like every mission, no matter how many he had been on previously, he felt incredibly nervous. Even knowing that as soon as things got serious, all his doubt would disappear, he was always annoyingly fearful. "Ready Jaune?" Pyrrha said sympathetically, picking up on his nervousness as usual. Jaune nodded to himself,

"Yeah, ready to go."

The X-wings lifted off the ground, the transport hovering behind them as they left the icy hangar. Jaune checked his sensors, monitoring Ruby's group. "Energy shield is down! Fighters incoming!" The transport's pilot cried as the shield generator detonated below them. Jaune gripped his flight stick harder and scanned the skies for TIE's. "Ace four, I have dupes and eyeballs coming in," Pyrrha said, swapping over to the proper callsign designations. Jaune turned his head to see the group of fighters screaming towards them. "Albatross," Jaune said using the transports name, "continue along the exit vector, we will deal with the fighters."

"Good luck," the pilot said as he flew his transport through the clouds. Jaune and Pyrrha rolled their fighters around to face the oncoming TIEs. Jaune's R5 unit warbled a warning,

"Blast it. Pyrrha, they have a missile lock on me," Jaune said as he moved into evasive manoeuvres.

"Set your proton torpedoes to detonate halfway between the target, the explosion should catch the missiles," Pyrrha coached. Jaune flicked the corresponding controls, firing his torpedo as he saw the streaks of blue light fly out of the incoming TIE bombers. The two projectiles clashed, setting off a dazzling, white explosion. Pyrrha was the first to fly through the cloud of smoke, firing of a burst of red lasers. Jaune flew in behind her, firing over Pyrrha's ship into the cockpit of one of the bombers.

As usual the streaks of green laser fire flew past Pyrrha, coming close but never hitting their target. As usual, the shots that missed Pyrrha ended up hitting Jaune's deflectors. Jaune shook in his seat as his shields absorbed the hits.

The pair of X-wings pulled into a hard left turn, just before slamming into the oncoming enemy TIEs. "They're coming in behind us," Jaune said as he looked nervously over his shoulder.

"Don't get hit," Pyrrha said sincerely.

"Easy for you to say," Jaune murmured. Pyrrha's nickname, the invincible girl, was just as true now as it was when she was a galaxy famous podracer. Jaune's R5 beeped another warning,

"They have a lock me this time," Pyrrha said just before Jaune could.

"Crossover manoeuvre, that should confuse them," Jaune said as he positioned his X-wing closely to Pyrrha's. A steady beeping alarm went off, signalling the approaching missiles. In synchronicity Jaune and Pyrrha rolled over and under each other, cockpits coming dangerously close to touching. Behind them the missiles spun, following their respective targets, resulting in another explosion as the missiles collided with each other.

"Pull up, aim for the dupes first," Jaune ordered as he pulled hard on his controls. Both X-wings looped around, coming down hard on the enemy fighters. Slamming down on the trigger, Jaune vaporised one of the bombers and its accompany TIE fighter escort. Pyrrha sniped the last fighters easily, the sky once again belonging to the Rebels. Jaune sighed with relief as they returned to the exit vector, "Let's get out of here."

* * *

Jaune paced around the hangar bay of the Mon Calamari cruiser. The fleet was in chaos, the desperate escape from Hoth had left everyone shaken, the chain of command broken. The medical ships were packed to the brim with the injured, and medical supplies running low. A constant stream of ships entered the system, slowly streaming in after the escape. As it were they were still waiting for many ships to arrive. "Any news?" Pyrrha said as she handed Jaune a hot drink. Jaune shook his head, "Still nothing,"

"I'm sure they're fine,"

"I hope so, we are going to need Ace squadron up and going soon. It's not going to take long before we are needed." Pyrrha nodded, taking a sip from her drink. Jaune sighed, "Guess there isn't anything else we can do now,"

"We could head back to our quarters, relax, take our minds off worrying for a bit?" Pyrrha said suggestively,

"I don't think I could sleep now,"

"I wasn't talking about sleep," Pyrrha said as she turned to strut away. Jaune chocked a little on his drink before following her enthusiastically.

* * *

Jaune and Pyrrha were awakened by the buzzing of a comlink. Bleary eyed, Jaune managed to grasp the com and answer, "Yeah?"

"Commander Arc, you are being called in for a priority alpha mission."

"Priority alpha? Commander!?" The comlink shut off abruptly leaving Jaune to process what had been said.

"What was it?" Pyrrha asked as she rolled over,

"I'm being called in for a mission, and I think I'm leading it," Jaune said, still a little in shock.

* * *

"As Commander Ruby is still missing, you will lead a team of fighters and transports on a pickup run to Thyferra. We need this Bacta badly, so do whatever it takes to bring it back." Jaune nodded along, studying the holo of the planet. "Expect Imperial interference, they likely expect us to come,"

"If they have a star destroyer I won't be able to do much," Jaune said nervously. The General nodded,

"We will also be sending a battle cruiser with you, under the command of Captain Goodwitch." Jaune shivered as he heard the name, everyone knew Goodwitch's reputation, she was tough, she was strict, but held the safety of her crew, and all those under her command, in high regard. She also was not Jaune's biggest fan due to a few mistakes early in Jaune's career as a pilot.

"She will deal with any Imperial capital ships, all you have to worry about is the Bacta carrying ships. Good luck, we are all depending on you." Jaune gulped, nodding once.

* * *

The small fleet of ships emerged from hyperspace. Jaune led the group of fighters, all flying ahead of the large cruiser. Looking down at the planet Jaune saw the star destroyer hanging in orbit. For a moment the doubt in his mind consumed him, his hands froze, eyes glued to the star destroyer. He shook himself out of it, focusing no the mission, emulating Ruby, Ozpin and the rest of the leaders he looked up too. "Lock S-foils in attack position. Fighters follow me down, prepare for enemy contacts." Jaune took a deep breath and smiled, around him X-wings, Y-wings and A-wings flew into formation, all following his lead. "Stay focused everyone, We're doing this for everyone we lost on Hoth, on Yavin. For the Rebellion!"


	15. Episode 3: Trials of the Force

**A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away**

 **STAR WARS RWBY**

 **EPISODE III**

 **Trials of the Force**

 **The Rebellion have won a major victory against the EMPIRE. Having destroyed the second DEATH STAR and the EMPEROR the EMPIRE has been left in chaos. The vacuum of power left in the EMPEROR'S wake has inspired a series of Imperial leaders all vying for control.**

 **For the ALLAINCE it is a time of reclamation. After months of liberation missions the ALLIANCE has begun re-establishing the REPUBLIC.**

 **For RUBY ROSE and WEISS SCHNEE it has meant a series of diplomatic missions, trying to convince star systems to join the new formed REPUBLIC. All whilst fighting off the remnants of the EMPIRE.**

 **For YANG XIOA LONG and BLAKE BELLADONNA it has meant finding and dealing with the darker remnants of the EMPIRE…**

Yang ran as if her life depended on it. Very likely because it did. Blake managed to stay ahead of her, she too running as fast as she could. Behind them the familiar clunking of the AT-ST got louder and louder as it approached. The streets of the spaceport were just big enough for it to continue, and no matter how many times Blake and Yang had ducked into a side street or alley, it kept finding them. "It's still coming!" Yang shouted as she glanced over her shoulder, the walker now swivelling its chin mounted laser cannons. "We're nearly there!" Blake shouted back. The walker fired its twin red bolts, hitting a parked speeder off to Yang's left. Raising an arm to shield herself from the shrapnel of the exploding speeder she found herself getting thrown from her feet by the force of the blast. Landing with a thud on the other side of the street Yang looked up to see the cannons now pointed directly at her. "So much for stealth," Yang said as she scrambled to her feet, quickly jumping out of the way of another of the walkers shots.

Blake turned to see her partner once again be sent flying. "Dammit Yang," Blake cursed as she turned to face the walker. Reaching down Blake went for her lightsaber, only to remember they hadn't brought them. Instead she drew her blaster and started firing to gain the AT-ST's attention.

The walker swivelled to aim at Blake, giving Yang time to draw a thermal detonator and arm it. Rolling it towards the walker Yang jumped to her feet and ran, motioning for Blake to run as well. The walker fired and Blake somersaulted backwards, narrowly avoiding the bolts.

The thermal detonator went off, a massive explosion tearing upwards and through he walker. Yang caught up to Blake, pushing her towards the ship. "I have a feeling it's going to be a bit more difficult to leave than it was to get here," Yang quipped as she raced into the hangar.

"Whatever do you mean, I'm pretty sure setting off a thermal detonator in the streets, destroying an Imperial walker, breaking into a governors manor, wouldn't give anyone cause to want us dead," Blake said sardonically. Yang smirked as she ran onto the _Ember's_ ramp,

"Well, at least we got the info we came for."

"It could just be another dead end," Blake said as they both rushed towards the cockpit.

"I got a good feeling about this one,"

"I hope you're right." The pair started prepping the ship for takeoff, Blake having finally picked up a little more piloting knowledge. The freighter lifted off the ground, the donut esq. shaped YT-2400 shooting upwards into the sky. "Look's like I was right, that Imperial Star destroyer we saw on the way in is moving into an intercept position," Yang said as she powered up the deflector shields.

"You're a good pilot, but getting past that thing is going to be tough," Blake said warily. Yang frowned,

"Hey it's me, this will be easy."

"We're not going back to Chandrilla are we?" Blake asked,

"Not just yet, we're going to take a more roundabout route for safety, maybe stop in with Ruby and Weiss first. For now let's just focus on the Star destroyer."

The _Ember_ broke through the atmosphere into space, the star destroyer immediately trying to hail them. Ignoring the messages Yang pushed the ship as hard as it could go. The guns started firing, green bolts trying to keep up with the fast moving freighter. The ship bounced as it took a hit to its underside. Yang snarled, swerving through the streams of fire. "Their tractor beam is powering up," Blake warned, "And here come the TIE fighters."

"Just focus on entering those hyperspace coordinates," Yang said as the ship once again absorbed shots from the star destroyer.

"Ready to go when you are," Blake said as she finished typing in the coordinates. Yang pulled the lever down and the _Ember_ disappeared into hyperspace.

* * *

Blake sat in the common room of the ship, reading over the information they had stolen from the Imperial governor. "Have we found her?" Yang asked as she wiped away grease from her hands, having just finished a few repairs. "Not yet," Blake said in defeat, "But we were right, she is amassing support, soon she might even be able to challenge some of the Moff's."

"That's the last thing this galaxy needs," Yang said, sounding just as worried as Blake. Blake stared at the numbers, the Imperial governor was one of Cinder's pawns, and had access to some of the information on her capabilities. The small fleet she had gathered was no threat to the New Republic, but in time it could very well become one. It seemed Cinder's visions had come true, and if she was not stopped, she could very well become another Emperor. "We can defeat her Blake," Yang said as she noticed Blake's melancholy take hold.

"I don't know Yang, you remember Menagerie. She can only have grown stronger, and with an army at her back I can only imagine the horrors she will be capable of." Yang sat down next to Blake, the dark haired girl resting her head on Yang's shoulder. "If we can do this, then it's over Blake. With Cinder gone, we will have done our part, made sure there were no loose ends to come back and haunt either of us."

"Then what? We go find a nice planet to settle down?"

"Definitely not, there are still a lot of places to see, adventures to be had. We'll wander, explore the galaxy, only this time without the threat of the Empire, or Cinder." The two sat silently for a long time, relaxing after the days stressful turn. "We're going to need help with Cinder Yang." Blake said, breaking the silence and moving from Yang's shoulder, Yang sighed, knowing where Blake was going with her line of thoughts. "Ruby has the potential, she's like you Yang, strong in the Force, the three of us could easily deal with her."

"No, I keep telling you, I'm not getting her involved in this. Look at us, the Force hasn't exactly made our lives easier has it?"

"You can't ignore it Yang, she is always going to have that power. If you don't teach her, she might become like you were when we met." Yang shook her head,

"She's not like me, she'll be fine, her life is dangerous enough as it is." Blake gave up, tired of trying to push the issue. "We're a few hours out from Weiss' ship, so get some rest," Yang said as she headed back to the cockpit.

* * *

Yang fell asleep in her chair. She was awakened suddenly by a flashing red light, and the violent quaking of the ship. Snapping out of her rest she quickly scanned the ships systems, "Oh karabast." The ship spun as it was ripped from hyperspace, Yang grimacing as her stomach churned. She immediately spied the Interdictor cruiser, sitting there waiting for them. Blake rushed into the cockpit, still wiping sleep from her eyes, "Sithspawn, we're in trouble," she said as she plonked down in the co-pilots seat.

"Go get in one of the turrets, we are going to need to shoot our way out of this," Yang said as she tried to count the amount of TIE's that were howling towards them. Blake nodded and got up, heading down to the guns. Hopping on the gun wells comm Blake asked, "What's the plan?"

"Honestly, I have no idea." Yang's thoughts were interrupted by an incoming transmission. Against her usual protocol of ignoring Imperial messages, Yang accepted.

"Freighter _Ember_ , please submit to Atlas authority. If you come quietly no harm will come to you or your ship," came an oddly familiar voice, though Yang had no idea where she had heard it before. Yang laughed,

"Yeah, that's not going to happen, I don't do the whole going quietly thing very well." Yang shut off the comms as the TIE's came close and Blake started firing.

Pass after pass, the _Ember_ absorbed more and more hits. Blake blasted away several TIE's, but the pair were simply outnumbered. Eventually the shields failed, "Blake, get to the escape pod! They just hit our engines!" Blake jumped off the turret and headed back into the ship. Running past the cockpit she shouted, "What are you doing, come on!"

"Gimme a moment, I'm sending a distress beacon," Yang replied, panels sparking and shattering around her, quickly she strapped the datachip with all the info they had on Cinder onto the control panel. "Done," Yang said as she rose from her chair, Blake feeling the waves of anger and sadness as the ship fell apart around Yang.

The escape pod detached from the freighter, both Yang and Blake looking back to see the TIE's blast several more holes in the ship. Yang felt her rage swell, the rush, the power of the darkside begging her to unleash it to save her ship. She shut her eyes, focusing on her breathing. "It'll be alright Yang," Blake said as she rested a hand on her partners back. Above them the hangar bay of the Interdictor cruiser slowly engulfed them.

* * *

Ruby gripped the hilt of her father's lightsaber. The familiar metal was still cool in her hands as she swung it around in practice. Despite her pleading with Yang and Blake, neither had wanted to even mention anything Jedi related, let alone help her train with her lightsaber. For whatever reason they both avoided the issue, claiming to know little, even though Ruby felt that was not true. She knew Blake used to be some sort of evil Jedi in service to the Empire, and that Yang had used her father's lightsaber before giving it to her.

Unlike before, when she was trapped on Hoth, or on the run from the Empire, she now had ample time to learn more about her what her father had been. Especially with Weiss being so absorbed by the various missions they had been busy with of late.

Despite her insistence, despite having been able to travel the galaxy and investigate, she had found very little. The talk of the Rebellion, now Republic, was that Luke Skywalker claimed to be a Jedi, having defeated Vader and the Emperor on board the second Death Star. What that really meant, not many people understood.

All she had was her father's weapon, the only link, the only memento of her family. "Commander Ruby, report to the bridge," A voice said over the ships intercom, forcing Ruby to deactivate her saber. Moving quickly through the ships hallways Ruby nodded and waved to the various crew that she passed along the way. Entering the bridge Ruby was greeted by the familiar sight of Weiss ordering around her staff. "Go ahead and prepare the shuttle, set up a fighter escort as well, nothing spectacular though, just a pair of fighters, but keep scanning, we are very close to several Imperial holdouts." Weiss said as her aid quickly tapped away on their datapad before running off to follow the orders. Weiss looked up to see Ruby dressed in her more casual training gear. "Ruby," Weiss said as she stared down at her datapad. Her eyes flicked up to see Ruby in the tight training outfit she wore, causing her to stutter a bit. "Uh, I was just wondering if you could get some fighters ready for an escort,"

"Sure thing, I'll get Jaune on it." Ruby waited for Weiss to continue, who instead returned to her datapad. "Anything else?" Ruby asked suggestively, hoping for at least some idle conversation from her partner, whom she had barely seen of late. "No, that is all," Weiss said dismissively. Ruby frowned, pulling Weiss away off the bridge, "W-what are you doing?"

"We need to talk,"

"About what?" Weiss said as Ruby moved them into a more private area of the bridge. Ruby crossed her arms, still frowning,

"Weiss, would it hurt you to just spend some time at least pretending to care about me? I feel like I haven't seen you in days, and when I do all you want is sleep, or to order me around."

"I'm sorry that I have a lot of work to do, and of course I care about you, if you haven't noticed though, re-establishing the Republic has been a little time consuming." Weiss said brashly, annoyed by Ruby's apparent ignoring of the responsibilities that had been placed on her. "So this job is more important than us," Ruby said gesturing to the both of them. Weiss looked taken aback,

"Well of course, it's the future of the galaxy, of course it's more important!" Weiss said loudly, drawing subtle looks from all the other officers on the bridge. Ruby scowled now, throwing her hands up and walking away. "What! What did I say!" Weiss called after her, quickly glancing at her crew, all suddenly ignoring the fight that had occurred between their captain and lead flight officer.

* * *

Ruby was woken by another message on her datapad, once again from Weiss. The first had been a half assed attempt at an apology, one that Ruby ignored. This one however caught Ruby's attention, forcing her up and out of her bunk. Running through the halls, this time empty, Ruby headed back towards the bridge. Sprinting through the automatic doors Ruby found Weiss standing alone over a glowing command station. "What's wrong?" Ruby asked looking over Weiss' shoulder at the screen. "It's your sister, we just picked up a distress signal from the _Ember,"_

 _"_ What are we waiting for, they need our help," Ruby said as she moved immediately towards the hangar bay.

"Ruby wait, it was probably Imperials, we need to secure this planet before we move out,"

"It doesn't matter, it's my sister, it's Blake. I gotta help them,"

"Ruby, I hate to do this, it's too risky to attempt a rescue. We only have this ship, and this sector is still crawling with Imperials. Once we have secured the help of this planet we can go after them, but until that time I'm not going to risk the ship." Ruby stopped in her tracks, fists clenching,

"What's happened to you? It's like you think your back in with the Empire, it's like you forgot that your friends, your family, are important. We may not be a Rebellion anymore, but every one of us is worth something, no one is expendable."

"Ruby," Weiss said solemnly, clearly hurt. Ruby closed her eyes in frustration,

"I know that you've always striven for peace. Even when we first met, that's what you wanted. Now you have to choose between your, mission, your peace, or the people you care about."

"Would you really sacrifice everything we fought for, to save me? To help Yang? We are representing the Republic now. Do you want more war, did you like spending everyday fighting to survive? Did you have to kill your own father?!" Weiss shouted, now nearly in tears. Ruby looked on the verge as well,

"I grew up without my family, I grew up surrounded by war. I fought for the people I loved, and I always will."

"And I will make hard decisions to protect what we have." Ruby stalked off the bridge, heading back to her room to pack. Weiss fell back against the command panel, sliding down to the ground. She had killed her father, whilst not a particularly amiable man, nothing would change the fact that he had raised her. So Weiss did what she did best, throwing herself into her work. Only now did she realise the cost of repressing her feelings.

* * *

Ruby prepped her fighter, running the final checks before going after Yang. "Thought you could leave without us?" Jaune said as he led the rest of Ace squadron, all dressed and ready to fly, as well as the Faunus commando team. smRuby iled warmly at them, "Guys, I can't ask you to come with me. There is still a job to be done here,"

"Yeah well screw that, it's Yang and Blake." Sun said as he strapped on his helmet,

"Yeah, they're our friends," Velvet said with a humble determination. Ruby's smile only widened, embarrassed by the dedication of her friends.

"I can't take the entire squadron and the trooper complement just to go after my sister. I'll go find her and be back in no time. So I'm ordering you guys to stay,"

"You sure Ruby? We would be glad to tag along," Neptune asked. Ruby shook her head,

"I promise I'll be fine," Ruby said as her astromech droid, R2-Z1 was lowered into its slot on her red and black X-wing. The grey R2 unit beeped an all clear, "Well of course I couldn't leave you behind Zwei." With a final wave Ruby started up her ship. Everyone watched as Ruby lifted off and out of the hangar, the X-wing flying away from the planet before blinking out of existence and into hyperspace.

* * *

"Excellent work Winter, we are very pleased with your progress of late, you are on your way to becoming as excellent commander as your father was." Ironwood said with a genuine smile,

"Yes, you shall make for a fine leader, something that the Empire needs now more than ever." Cinder said as she continued to watch over the shipyards that sprawled out before them. "The Atlas facilities are quite impressive; Grand Moff Schnee spoke of its efficiency, and it appears he was not exaggerating." Cinder smiled as she noticed Winter immediately perk up at the mention of her father. Winter was an effective tool, with Cinder's careful guidance she could shape the girl into a more powerful tool than even Ironwood was now. She could be a legitimate successor to her father, solidifying a claim on the remnants of the Empire, giving Cinder the control she had foreseen.

"Transfer the prisoners over to my ship. Winter, I would very much like to talk with you as well, I'm very impressed with how you have handled yourself, I have an important mission for you. As well as many more stories I can tell you of your father," Cinder saying the last part in an almost motherly tone.

"I would be very grateful," Winter said proudly. Cinder nodded, allowing her to leave. Ironwood, the leader of the Atlesian planetary defence force, and now a leader in Cinder's Empire.

"From what I know you barely knew the man," Ironwood commented from beside Cinder, he too looking out over the shipyards.

"It doesn't matter, that man was horribly irritating. She wants to hear that he was a great leader, and that she should follow in her footsteps. I can use that, create the weapon I need, one that is as deadly as the Grand Moff was, but without his needless obsessions. I can cement her loyalty to me, and in turn cement the rest of the Empires loyalty to her."

"And what about me? I was promised the power that the Grand Moff denied me, a chance to shape the galaxy, and not just this planet." Cinder turned to him with a wicked smile, caressing his cheek softly,

"My dear James, you shall receive the glory and power you rightfully deserve." Ironwood straightened, freezing at the uncomfortable and unprofessional closeness of Cinder. "Now, if you can excuse me, I have prisoners that I am dying to see." Cinder marched away, gesturing to her handmaiden, the partially robotic Neo, to follow. Her battle with Yang had left her with a cybernetic arm, eye and leg, and an overdeveloped sense of vengeance.

"You can feel her presence can't you?" Cinder asked as she headed towards where her star destroyer was docked with the space station. Neo grinned, robotic eye sparkling red. "You'll get your time with her, I just need to ask a few questions first. Then she is all yours."

* * *

Yang struggled against the restraints, her arms and legs bound to the hovering table. Beside her Blake tried to relax, reaching out with her senses. "Can you use the force to get these restraints off?" Yang asked, Blake shook her head,

"Too complex, I can't figure out the mechanism."

"Darn," Yang said as she once again pushed against her restraints. The door to the holding room opened and Winter stepped inside.

"It's no use Rebel, those restraints are of the highest quality," she said boastfully. Yang glared,

"What now Schnee, I have to deal with your little sister enough as it is, then I learn there is another one left," Yang said dramatically.

"There are no other Schnee's, Weiss is nothing. I am the last Schnee,"

"You're not a real Schnee though are you?" Blake asked, an understanding suddenly hitting her.

"W-what are you talking about, I am Winter Schnee, heir to my fathers, and the Empires, legacy," she said, caught off-guard by the comment. Blake smiled pitifully at her,

"Wake up Winter, you know what you are, and you know you can never be what they say." Winter scowled, looking truly furious, storming out of the cell. Yang raised an eyebrow at Blake,

"What was that?"

"Feel her with the force," Blake responded, returning to her meditative state. Yang did as Blake suggested, going through her usual techniques that she had developed. She was not as fast as Blake, but slowly she was able to more easily tap into the force consciously, able to use it with more precision. She touched the minds of the stormtroopers, the minds of the surround engineers, and finally the mind of Winter. It felt, different, not unlike that of an alien mind. Yet unlike an alien mind, each race having its own unique feel based on the biology and culture of the particular alien, there was no one thing that Yang could pinpoint as being off. It simply felt wrong.

"What is she?" Yang asked, disgust seeping into her tone.

"I've only felt that a few times, around the few clone troopers the Empire retained."

"She's a clone," Yang said still processing the thought. "Of Weiss,"

"I think so, definitely looks like her, although I'm surprised she never mentioned it."

"She mustn't know… Stars! Her father made a clone of her?!" Yang said in complete disgust now.

"Accelerated ageing, and training. Easily manipulated and controlled, she would have been the daughter Weiss' father always wanted," Blake said thoughtfully. Yang shook her head,

"That's wrong, and it means they have access to cloning facilities."

"Which means whoever is running this operation is an incredibly serious threat,"

"I just wonder-" Yang stopped, eyes growing wide and turning to face Blake. Blake had a similar expression, both feeling the wall of malice moving towards their cell. The door slid open and Yang and Blake met the yellow eyes of Cinder Fall.

* * *

Ruby pulled herself out of hyperspace as she reached the location of the _Ember's_ distress beacon. After having spent several long hours waiting in her cockpit, Ruby stretched to make sure she was alert. Bursting out of hyperspace she looked into the empty stars, no planets in site. Zwei made a drawn out, low and sad tone as he found the wreckage of the _Ember._ Ruby felt her fear rising as she slowed to hover near the battered freighter. Several holes had been burned through he hull, leaving a lot of it charred black. Bits of debris that had come off the ship drifted nearby. Zwei reported no life signs to be found aboard the vessel, as well as no organic material similar to human remains. "All right I'm going to get on board, keep the engines warm and give me warning if anyone else comes into the system okay Zwei?" Ruby asked, Zwei gurgling a warning to be careful but also an acknowledgement of his role. Ruby drifted closer to the freighter, strapping on her breather and unsealing the cockpit. Unstrapping herself Ruby kicked off her fighter towards the _Ember_.

Floating in through one of the holes in the ship, crawling down into the familiar corridors. Knocking aside the various things that now floated aimlessly. Making her way to the cockpit Ruby pulled herself down into Yang's seat. Activating the ships logs, running on the battery that operated as the ships blackbox, Ruby read through the events that had led to the ships demise. Ruby felt a sinking feeling as her fears were given legitimacy. The Empire had her, and Ruby had no idea if that meant Yang was alive or dead. She shook herself out of the depression; she had to believe Yang was alive.

Ruby stopped herself when she found a small data chip taped to the controls. Picking it up Ruby studied the device. Before she had a chance to plug it into the _Ember's_ computer Zwei screeched a warning over her comm. "What is it?" Ruby asked as she pushed herself back up through the ship towards her fighter. Zwei let out a series of quick chirps and warbles, "not good," Ruby said as she drifted out of the freighter and saw the Lancer class frigate appear in the distance. Climbing into her fighter and reengaging the interior atmosphere Ruby pulled off her breather, speeding away from the oncoming frigate. "What is a ship like that doing out here? Thought they were only used for planetary defence? Must have been monitoring the area." Zwei warbled another warning, picking up several TIE fighter signatures. "Don't worry about them we'll just make a quick jump out of here," Zwei beeped, starting to calculate the jump back to the _Whiterose_. "We can't go back right away Zwei, if they track us to the ship they could bring company and jeopardize Weiss' diplomatic mission."

Zwei chattered nervously, trying to find a nearby system that didn't pose any threat. Ruby's sensors lit up as her the TIE's now came within range of firing. Flicking a switch ruby sent her power to her rear shields, just as several green bolts flew past her cockpit. "Zwei just pick a place already! See if there is anything in this thing," Ruby said as she shoved the data chip into a port in her cockpit. Zwei went silent as Ruby swerved and ducked under continued fire of the TIE's. Suddenly a series of numbers danced across Ruby's screen, appearing to be hyperspace coordinates. Zwei engaged the hyperdrive immediately, the X-wing jumping away and leaving the TIE's without a target.

Ruby once again sat impatiently in her cockpit, Zwei having gone silent and refused to break that silence after reading through the data chips information. SO Ruby waited, hoping that Zwei hadn't sent her somewhere stupid, dangerous or both. Zwei came to life after three hours of silence, apparently having had trouble processing all the information. Chattering excitedly over the information Ruby had trouble making out anything. "Calm down Zwei, slowly, tell me slowly." Before Zwei could respond Ruby's fighter dropped out of hyperspace, the sight before her causing Ruby to stare in shock an fear. The space station was as unchanged. Built into a large asteroid the turbolasers remained in pieces as Ruby had left them. It appeared lifeless, seeming like something from a bad, bad dream. Somehow, for some reason, the information chip that Yang had possession of included the location of the prisoner where Ruby had performed her first Rebellion mission, where she had freed an old friend. More than anything, it was the place where Ruby had found her mother.

* * *

 **AND EPISODE 3 BEGINS! This is it guys the big finale episode. I don't think I have been as excited for anything relating to this story as I am for the rest of this episode. You have all been amazing in your support and in dealing with the more complicated elements of my life, just knowing you guys are out there has been really helpful. So please send in reviews, good or bad, suggestions ect. I might do a few interlude chapters here and there or do segments at the start or end of chapters because I still have so many ideas for those, for the most part though Epiosde 3 is the focus. I will try and keep any spoilers from the new movie (which is amazing) from the story, I doubt even if I wanted to spoil things, the time in which this story is set (months after Return of the Jedi) will mean I won't have to worry brining anything up that is directly related to the movie. Of course for those who look carefully enough, hints and teases will likely come up every once and a while.**

 **Enough rambling though, thanks for reading and until...  
** **NEXT TIME: Ruby faces her past! And Weiss faces her future!**


	16. Part 11

"Mr Roman Torchwick, Malachite sisters, I welcome you." Cinder said with a smug revelry, "I am so pleased you came,"

"Hard to say no when you're offering so many credits," Torchwick said with a grin. Cinder feigned insult,

"Oh Roman, are credits all you care about." Torchwick eyed Cinder somewhat hungrily, clearly restraining himself from making any lewd comments. Cinder smiled and Torchwick gulped, "No matter, we have plenty of those in which to pay you for Ruby Rose. I would prefer if you could bring her to me unharmed, but if it comes to it, I will accept her corpse."

"What are those two doing here?" Torchwick asked, nodding his head towards Cinder's two new lackeys.

"This is Emerald and Mercury, they are my new apprentices. They too will be hunting the girl, I hope you're not afraid of some friendly competition."

"Ha, those two probably couldn't find a Wookie if it was tearing their arms out."

"Then they'd better learn quick, lest I find myself no longer needing them," Cinder said as she glared at her two apprentices. "Now go."

* * *

"Ambassadors are back on board captain, the Mistralians have agreed to join the New Republic," the communications officer relayed to Weiss. Weiss nodded motioning to the navigator,

"Alright prepare the hyperdrive, but wait until my command to jump." The navigator nodded and got to work. Weiss headed activated her comms, "Jaune, any contact from Ruby yet?"

"Not yet, she's been gone an awfully long time, I think we should send out the squadron to retrieve her."

"Yes… once Pyrrha and the ambassadors are on board go and find her." Weiss was worried, reports from the planets scouts had suggested that the Imperials in the sector were on the move. On top of that Ruby had been away far too long, meaning she was almost certainly in trouble. "Captain we have an urgent message from Mistral,"

"Patch it through," Weiss said as she stepped over to the large holoprojector on the bridge. A blue image of the planets representative appeared, clearly distressed.

"C-captain we received a warning from the Imperials, they are sending a ship to affirm our loyalty."

"Under whose command?" Weiss asked, the representative stammering out a nervous response,

"T-they are sending A-admiral Schnee?" He said in confusion, Weiss adopting a similar expression of befuddlement.

"That's not possible, I am the last Schnee. It must be a ruse of some kind,"

"I-I don't think so, s-she looked just, like you."

Weiss put a hand to her face, trying desperately to come up with a reasonable explanation for what was happening. "Captain! Enemy contact, two Acclamator class assault ships and an Imperial class star destroyer!" Weiss hurried to the front of the bridge to inspect the three Imperial ships that had suddenly arrived. "Orders captain?" The weapons officer asked somewhat eagerly,

"Lay down covering fire, head to mark one-eight and make the jump to hyperspace as fast as you can!" Weiss ordered as she headed back towards the holoprojector. "Send a communication to the Imperial class, let's have a talk with this impostor." It took a moment but eventually the projector flickered again and an image of a remarkably similar looking woman appeared. For a second both stood silently, examining the other, "Who are you!" Weiss said angrily, eyes wide with disbelief.

"It's you," the enemy officer said, words dripping with venom before composing herself with a menacing glare. "I am Winter Schnee, Admiral of the Empire, surrender your ship or be destroyed, traitor." Weiss stood in shock, still taking in the fact that she felt like she was talking to a slightly older version of herself. "Whatever you are, whoever you think you are, I am Weiss Schnee, last of my name." Weiss said adamantly, "You have violated New Republic space, if you do not retreat you will bring the full force of the Republic fleet down upon you." Winter smirked, shutting off the communication.

Looking back out towards the Imperial ships Weiss watched lasers streak out towards them. Her officers had already directed power to the front facing shields, ready to absorb the hits. Beside her the weapons officer busily shouted orders into his comm, streams of blaster fire now erupting from the _Whiterose_. "Focus fire on the Acclamator's, this is clearly an invasion force, least we can do is wipe out their troops and give the Mistralians some time." The weapons officer nodded and the streams of red laser shifted towards the closest Acclamator.

The shields burst quickly under the _Whiterose's_ assault, explosions rippling across the smaller ships hull. "First Acclamator is disabled!" The weapons officer cheered,

"Hyperdrive charged and ship out of the planets shadow, ready to jump." The navigation officer called across the bridge. Weiss scowled, taking a last look at the invasion force,

"Make the jump."

* * *

Winter watched the Rebel frigate jump away. She grit her teeth and slammed her fist against the wall. "Damage report!" Winter growled down to the officers in the command trenches.

"The _Ursa_ took critical damage, they have had to abandon ship," an officer responded.

"Move the _Boarbatusk_ into atmosphere and begin deploying the troops. Move us into close orbit, if they resist, bombard their spaceports, trap them on the planet." Officers nodded and began following her orders, the planet of Mistral growing closer as her ship, the _Beowolf_ , moved into orbital bombardment position. With all her orders given she stepped towards the back of the bridge. Her rigid composure broke, hands shaking. She had found the woman who had killed her father, Weiss Schnee, her enemy. Winter had let her get away, let her father go un-avenged. "It will not happen again," She snarled to herself.

* * *

Ruby popped the canopy of her X-wing, Zwei popping out of his socket and dropping down onto the enclosed landing platform. Ruby hefted her blaster pistol as she climbed down herself, surprised that the readings had said that the prison still had power and atmosphere. She didn't know why she was here, she could have just made the jump back to the _Whiterose_ and been done with it. Yet something had called to her, made her want to step foot inside the prison again. Unlike the last time Ruby was there the corridors were dark, panels and wires laying everywhere. A thin layer of dust covered everything and smelt of decay. Zwei whistled as he rolled through the hallways beside Ruby, a bright light emanating from one of his ports.

 **3 years ago…**

"Green three! Focus fire on the lasers-uh-turbo laser cannons, and then proceed to begin the breakout!" Oobleck called out quickly, Ruby quickly spinning her X-wing out of the dogfight. Snapping off a series of shots Ruby vaporised the first cannon, swooping around past the other cannon that tried desperately to follow her fast moving fighter. Looping up and around, Ruby's targeting brackets landed on the turret, with a quad blast from her X-wings it detonated, just before the cannon blew her into oblivion. "Cannons are down! Tell the transport we are ready to go!" Ruby said excitedly, her third Rebellion mission going exceptionally well. The promise that the prison held also excited her, finally a chance that she might actually find Coco, and her mother.

Ruby flew down onto the landing platform, transport ship landing behind her. Leaping out of the cockpit Ruby raced towards the door leading to the main facility. Behind her armoured troop raced out of the transport, rifles charged and ready. Ruby slid to a halt as the heavy set of doors cracked open. One of the soldiers pulled Ruby back into the tight formation, shielding her from the blaster bolts that erupted from the other side of the door. Ruby stared wide eyed as the soldiers around her fired back, knocking down the small contingent of stormtroopers. Beside her a Rebel trooper dropped, blaster bolt piercing his armour. Ruby couldn't take her eyes off of the now dead Rebel.

She was quickly broken out of the daze when another soldier pushed her forward and into the facility. Ruby fell behind as the soldiers rushed inside, hunting for anymore Imperials. Ruby felt the panic hit her now. Alone in the irritatingly bright and clean hallways Ruby felt like she was on a medical ship, making the prison all the more eerie.

"In here!" A soldier cried from down the hall. Ruby moved quickly, running up to the group of Rebels as they waited by a blast-door. Ruby stood at the door as the soldier opened it. Unlike the exterior, the interior of the cell was dark, dank and horrifying. Instead of a single person cell the room opened up into a massive open area, filled with malnourished beings. The soldiers moved in to get everyone to the transport, Ruby pushing through the crowd trying to find a familiar face. "Ruby!" A voice called, immediately drawing the pilots attention, "Ruby!" Coco called as she strongarmed other prisoners to rush towards the front of the group where Ruby stood.

"Coco!" Ruby said, quickly embracing her friend. Coco laughed, borderline hysterically as she gripped Ruby hard.

"I-I can't believe you found me,"

"Hey you helped me get free of the Empire, this is nothing," Ruby said still in shock over actually having found her friend. Coco pulled away, still holding Ruby,

"Ruby she's here, your mother,"

"Where!" Ruby said wide eyed as she looked past Coco and into the crowd of prisoners. Coco pushed her out of the cell and into the hallway past the soldiers. Pulling Ruby along Coco lead her deeper into the facility, "Summer was here before me, she helped me get through the first few months. A few days ago some Imperial came looking for her, real scary looking woman, took her to isolation… Bad things happen in isolation Ruby." Ruby remained silent, adrenaline still pumping through her veins. Coco halted the pair outside a door similar to the one that guarded Coco's cell. She looked to Ruby, despite appearing to be the more damaged of the two, Coco looked on in worry at the pilots reaction. Taking a deep breath Ruby opened the cell door.

* * *

The isolation cell looked the same as it had all those years ago. It was a simple square, barley enough room for a person to lay out flat. The bloodstains had turned brown like rust, but to Ruby they were as red as they had been when she had first been in the room. Waves of emotion beat down on her, rage, depression, and yearning. She felt as if she were going to collapse, break down like she did the first time. She was alone now, she didn't have Coco to drag her away. So Ruby stood her ground and closed the door.

Ruby moved quickly away from the cell, continuing to explore the facility. Zwei whistled an alert, "What is it?" Ruby asked as she followed behind the droid as it rolled off towards what seemed to be a mess hall. The hairs on the back of her neck rose as she entered the room, which had clearly been occupied by someone after the breakout. Heading in with pistol raised, Ruby scanned the room.

The walls were scratched, some scratching's appeared to be some sort of language, unfamiliar to Ruby. The others were much larger burn marks, similar to the ones Ruby had accidentally made on occasion with her lightsaber. "I got a bad feeling about this," Ruby said quietly, Zwei beeping in agreement. In the centre of the room sat a scrappy bedroll and what appeared to be a starfighter's survival equipment as well as a wealth of datapads. "Watch my back," ruby murmured to Zwei as she bent down to read through the datapads.

 _Cinder Fall:_

 _I found more of Palpatine's facilities, now very deep into the uncharted regions. With each one I can feel myself grow stronger, the new knowledge is startling. It's hard to believe that he managed to hide so many skills from the Inquisitorius. The Force is now more my weapon than ever before._

Ruby furrowed her eyebrows, the cryptic messages repeatedly alluding to some 'Force'. Cinder was an Inquisitor, like Blake had been, but after the Emperor's fall she had spent her time searching for research facilities and archives that he had left behind. She didn't seek out new weapons, or military technology, she only sought knowledge of the Force. Ruby had heard the saying, 'may the force be with you' it was something that was thrown around a lot in the Rebellion. Ruby always thought it was just about luck.

"Zwei, does the datachip Yang had have any references to the Force?" Zwei spent a moment running through the data before projecting a hologram of Yang.

"So if you are seeing this, then hopefully your name is Ruby Rose, and I'm not dead…"

* * *

"AAAAAAAHHHH!" Yang screamed as pain wracked her body. Cinder stood watching on, arms crossed and smug smile on her face, using the force to cause Yang great pain. Beside her Neo watched on with enjoyment as Yang thrashed against her bonds. Cinder released her grip on Yang, stepping closer and leaning in to whisper to Yang. "So, tell me more about your sister,"

"What sister?" Yang said with a groggy smirk, before being thrown back against the table she was bound too.

"Ruby Rose, Leader of Ace squadron, daughter of Summer Rose and Taiyang Xiao-Long. That means, like you, she could be a powerful ally. Or an unavoidable enemy."

"In your dreams," Yang said as she spat some blood onto the floor. "She would never join you."

"If she is brought before me, I will show her things that you cannot even begin to imagine. Once she sees the true nature of the Force, the true power of the darkside, she will bow before me, just as the galaxy will. Or she will die." Cinder waved over Neo, "Now it's time to learn Neo. Remember the pain that she caused you, feel the strength surge through you." Yang stared into Neo's eyes, both human and robotic glowing with a disturbing light. "Now crush her."

Neo reached out with her hand, Yang immediately feeling as if her whole body were being crushed from the inside. She screamed, thrashed and cursed. Blood started to stream from her nose as the pain caused her to black out. "Enough," Cinder said, Neo ignoring the call of her master. "Enough!" Cinder commanded, hand reaching up to throw the smaller girl aside. Neo stopped, exchanging a challenging look with Cinder. "Don't disobey me again, remember who scraped you off the bottom of that mine." Neo averted her gaze, nodding. Cinder turned back to Yang, a pitiful look in her eye, "You will have plenty of chances to make her suffer. For now though, we have more important things to deal with."

* * *

"I don't know why I'm doing this. I told Blake I would never tell you, never force you into this. Well, deep down I know she's right, and you can't ignore what you are. I certainly tried to, let's just say it didn't turn out to well." The hologram of Yang sighed, hesitantly continuing. "Dad was a Jedi. Well, kind of, but that's not too important now. He was a powerful warrior, but like everyone who has this power, he was so much more."

Yang seemed to stare directly at Ruby now. "It's going to sound crazy, but trust me, it's real, all of it. The Jedi used to protect the galaxy, warriors of peace and all that, but were destroyed by the Empire. Before that though they were apparently something special, all because they could feel the Force." Yang smiled, looking down as if remembering something, "Dad taught me a little, before he died. The Force is energy, a field of power that moves around us, makes the universe turn. Some people, very unlucky people," Yang grumbled, "Have the power to tap into it, shape it and feel it. Dad could, I can, and…" Yang hesitated, "So can you. It's not all good though, it can corrupt you, make you into something evil, if you don't find a way to control your feelings. I had," Yang paused. "Well, _have,_ a lot of trouble with that so I can say from experience that it's a never ending battle. It's tough, tiring, and sometimes impossible." The hologram shut its eyes, "But there is nothing like it, being able to feel everything on a whole different level." Slowly Yang opened her eyes and once again stared at Ruby with determination. "Ruby, you have this power, and with it you can do a lot of good. Be careful, don't stop being who you are, no matter what."

The hologram shut off, Zwei turning to Ruby. Ruby leant against one of the mess halls tables, eyes staring off into nothingness. Looking down Ruby stared at the datapads that had belonged to Cinder. With haste she began reading through them, looking for any more information. Finally she read through a passage that disturbed her.

 _I will create an Empire that no one can topple. I will destroy the Rebellion, and I will destroy the last Jedi. It is the only way, Blake, the Xiao Long girl, and especially Skywalker, must be eliminated before I can truly rule over this galaxy. Then I should eliminate even those closest to me, Neo, Emerald and Mercury, I will not allow myself to be betrayed like Palpatine was. No more apprentices will be trained. Once I am in control, they will eliminate them. I will be the last Force wielder._

"It's her, she has Yang and Blake." Ruby said with certainty, discarding the datapad and sifting through the other belongings that had been left behind. Grabbing a few of the more interesting datapads, Ruby left the mess hall. Walking back past her mother's cell Ruby stopped. "I'll free them mum, and I will become a Jedi, like my father before me."

* * *

 **Hey guys, back from my holiday. I had plenty of time to write while I was away so I have a few chapters ready to go, or near so. So expect a chapter a day for the next few days. In other news, I still think you guys are amazing. Other than that I have been thinking on possibly starting up a pateron, just to help with some financial stuff, help me justify loving this so much. If you guys have any thoughts on that send me a PM, or review or w/e.  
** **Final thing I have to ask of everyone, is what do you guys want next? This story is coming to a close and I have a few other projects that I was thinking of starting.  
**

 **So here is what I have:  
1\. Vampire/supernatural themed, modern day criminal syndicate RWBY au**

 **2\. Epic Viking adventure RWBY**

 **3\. High seas military adventure (cannons and flintlocks) RWBY**

 **VOTE AWAY AT WHAT YOU WANT!**


	17. Part 12

**1 year earlier…**

"Ruby!" Weiss cried out as she barrelled through the dense crowd of Nemoidians. Pushing and shoving past merchants, pilots and even a few gang members, Weiss found her way to Ruby's side. Ruby stood oblivious to the Weiss' frantic shouting, only turning when she was pushed onwards. "Hey, what's up?" Ruby asked as she let herself be shoved through the crowd.

"Someone is after me," Weiss whispered,

"What? Imperials?"

"I don't think so," Weiss glanced back into the crowd, the Trandoshan she had spied earlier pushing his way towards them. Ruby followed Weiss' gaze and found the tall reptilian bounty hunter. "That's not good," Ruby murmured as she now pulled Weiss along. The two broke away from the crowd, darting off into a side street that headed towards their ship. "Did you manage to make contact with our agent?" Weiss asked as her eyes darted quickly to see if they were still being followed. "Yeah, I have the intel we needed, so there is nothing keeping us here."

Ruby and Weiss found the landing pad, a circular area that jutted out over the edge of the bridge city, misty mountains sitting below. Together they rushed towards the nondescript freighter that they had flown in on. Weiss glanced back again, "Ruby get down!" She shouted as she dived forward, the Trandoshan firing several shots from his heavy blaster rifle.

Ruby ducked and rolled, the bolts slamming into the thick hull of the freighter. Weiss crawled forwards, drawing her holdout blaster pistol she had tucked safely in her jacket. Ruby whipped her pistol free of its holster and fired back, the bounty hunter shifting surprisingly quickly to avoid being hit.

"Who sent him after us?!" Ruby said as she fired her pistol. Weiss scrambled to her feet and joined her, the two laying down a barrage of fire and forcing the Trandoshan back around the corner into the alleyway.

"I would wager that he was hired by my father, he has used bounty hunters before."

"Great," Ruby said dryly, flinching as a bolt hit the ship near to her face.

Suddenly the Trandoshan rushed out from behind cover, firing wildly at the pair as they clambered up the ramp into the freighter. From the alleyway another Trandoshan, dressed almost identically, rushed out. The pair of reptilian hunters showered the freighter with blaster fire, Ruby only just managing to not get hit. One of the exposed engines exploded as it took a series of hits, shaking the landing platform. "Ruby!" Weiss shouted, calling her inside the ship. Ruby ignored the series of expletives that Weiss screamed as she tried to get Ruby on board. They couldn't fly without that engine, and hey couldn't hide here, trapped on the platform.

Ruby rushed out from the bulky freighters ramp, dancing in-between the streams of red bolts. Ripping her fathers lightsaber from her belt she ignited the yellow blade. Running on what seemed to be purely instinct, Ruby swung the blade left and right and drawing it horizontally across her chest. The bolts that should have hit her rebounded off the amber blade.

The Trandoshans hissed, taking steps back as Ruby rushed them. She felt as if she were watching herself from a distance, out of the moment, and not as if she were running directly at a pair of heavily armed bounty hunters. Time seemed to slow, making her movements quicker, her reflexes sharper.

With one clean slice Ruby cut the heavy blaster rifles that the Trandoshans held. Having expected some resistance to the blow, Ruby was thrown off balance by her own follow through. The first bounty hunter struck, backhanding her with his heavy scaled fist. The second went to pull a vibroknife from his belt, only to be thrown back as a blaster bolt took him in the chest. Weiss had appeared at the top of the ramp, blaster in hand.

The remaining Trandoshan stood shocked for a second, eventually reaching for his blaster pistol. Ruby spun to swing at him, but not before he could get a shot off. The blaster bolt grazed her fathers lightsaber hilt, the blade sputtering as it deactivated. The bounty hunter took a step back, closer to the edge of the landing pad. Without her saber Ruby instead kicked out, pushing the Trnadoshan over the edge of the pad.

Ruby panted looking to Weiss with a confident smile. Weiss on the other hand was scowling, arms crossed in protest. "Ruby Rose! Of all the foolhardy things I have seen you do…"

* * *

Ruby smiled at the memory, her X-wing soaring over the hanging bridge cities of Cato Nemoidia. It was late afternoon and the sun had begun to disappear over the horizon, sending spears of light through the mountains. Ruby headed towards one of the smaller bridge cities, the one where she had encountered the bounty hunters that had been sent after Weiss.

So far it was the only place she could remember feeling anything that was similar to what Yang and Cinder had described. Zwei let of a series of questioning noises, "No Zwei, I have no idea what I am doing."

Ruby landed her X-wing on the same landing platform as before, this time though she needn't worry about being discovered by the Imperials. Stepping down from her X-wing, Ruby paced around the platform, reliving the memories that it held. She drew her lightsaber, it felt different now, back then it had been a strange, unfamiliar thing. Now it was part of her, part of her history and part of her future. She was thankful that no one was nearby to disturb her, that the platform was still hidden and isolated, lest she be seen and judge as some madwoman.

Ruby hesitated, she had an idea of what she could do, what might help her connect to the Force. However, the only things she knew that specifically mentioned the use of the Force, came from Cinders mad ramblings. Even though she hated the idea of learning from Cinder, who by all accounts, from both Yang's datachip and the woman's own datapads, was a truly evil and wretched person, it was all Ruby had.

So she sat, looking out over the peaceful mountain ranges that made put the surface of Cato Nemoidia. She closed her eyes, slowing her breathing and focusing. As she sat there, alone and in silence, she felt something. Suddenly she could feel, even hear the goings on of the city that she sat on the outskirts of. Around her, the mist that so permitted the planet, curled around her. Ruby purposefully ignored some of Cinder's teachings, her constant mentioning of hate and anger being the strongest ignition source for channeling the force seemed wrong. So instead Ruby tried to stay calm, ignoring the growing excitement that bubbled within her. Just as quickly as the feeling of connectedness had come, so did it leave. Ruby's eyes snapped open, brought out of her trance abruptly. Waving her hand to dissipate the mist around her, Ruby stood and surveyed the platform again.

From the alleyway that served as the entrance, Ruby heard careful and deliberately loud steps. Emerging from the alley, still somewhat obscured by fog, came an oddly eccentric looking man. White coat, strange hat and glowing cigar he gave her an annoyingly confident smile, "Hello there Red, just the girl I have been looking for."

"I think you have me confused with someone else," Ruby said cautiously as she backed away, heading closer to her X-wing.

"I don't think so, you are exactly who I'm looking for. Now if you could please throw me your blaster and come quietly, that would be swell." Ruby scoffed at the man, drawing her blaster to fire a warning shot. As quickly as she had drawn it, so had the strange man whipped up his cane, revealing it to be a hidden blaster. With one quick, precise shot he shot the blaster from her hands. She stared at him with wide eyes, he shrugged nonchalantly, "Now you know I mean business, so come along now, lets not waste anymore of my precious time."

"Not so fast Torchwick," another voice said, a pair of figures emerging behind Torchwick.

"She's ours," The other figure, clearly feminine said. The two figures emerged from shadow and fog, dressed in black, lightly armoured Imperial marked gear. Ruby was drawn immediately to the crude looking lightsabers that hung from their belts. "Oh for crying out loud, get lost you two, I got here first so she's mine. I'm sure Cinder would be very unhappy if I had to ship you two home in pieces," Torchwick growled. The three exchanged uneasy glares, leaving Ruby time to edge just a bit closer to her X-wing. "That's far enough Red," Torchwick said, raising his blaster at her. Ruby stopped, hand slowly reaching for the lightsaber on her belt. Mercury and Emerald turned now, focusing their attention on Ruby.

Zwei beeped above her, Ruby nodded, smiling defiantly, "Whenever you're ready Zwei." The X-wings engines roared to life and lifted off the ground, spinning its guns towards the trio of hunters. Ruby unclipped her lightsaber and ignited it, the silvery blue light piercing through the fog. "Back off," Ruby said, putting as much force as she could into her voice. Torchwick hesitated, unknowingly taking a step back. Mercury and Emerald however were not dissuaded by the hovering fighter. Instead they leapt into action, lightsabers glowing red as the dashed forward underneath the X-wing's arc of fire. Ruby raised her saber, blocking the pair of red blades. Locked in place by the strength of her two opponents Ruby was forced to hold her ground. Behind her Zwei fired the fighters S-foils, the platform shaking as the crimson bolts burned through durasteel, sending Torchwick flying.

Ruby managed to break free from Emerald and Mercury, now holding her lightsaber in front of her. They attacked quickly, but like Ruby, they were somewhat unpracticed with their weapons. The three of them managed to clash blades, and in the awkward swinging and stabbing, managed to come out unhurt. Though unpracticed, two against one was still bad odds. Ruby batted away Mercury's blow, dancing away from Emeralds quick jab. "Give it up kid, your if you give us any trouble we will have to kill you," Mercury said confidently pacing back and forth. Emerald shared his confident, jackal like smile. Ruby watched them carefully waiting for them to make the next move.

Behind them Zwei hovered the X-wing, trying to get a clear shot. one that wouldn't also vaporise Ruby. Emerald and Mercury though, were too close to her. Ruby sprung into action, tired of waiting. With wide swipes she managed to push Mercury away, now directly sending strikes against Emeralds defences. Ruby was clearly exerting a lot more energy than her enemies, having to fend off attacks from two fronts rather than one. Nonetheless, she managed to make enough room to manoeuvre closer to her hovering ship. Mercury lunged, seeing what Ruby was doing. Ruby brought her silver blade low, blocking the lunge. Emerald jumped forward, lifting her saber above her head to bring down hard, hoping to sever Ruby's arm. Instead, Ruby pushed Mercury's blade up and into the path of Emeralds. The two partners clashed and fell back, giving Ruby enough room to leap onto her ship.

Scrambling up the nose and into the cockpit, Ruby felt the fighter shake as it let off another shot, Zwei now freely able to fire. Emerald and Mercury leapt back, flipping like an acrobat and avoiding the burn of the bolt. Rocketing up and off the planet, Ruby and Zwei failed to notice the two ships that flew after them. One, a twin piloted freighter with enough weaponry to raze a city. The other, a black, birdlike, HWK 290, invisible against the darkness of space.

* * *

Blake tried her hardest not to make any noise. Despite the pain, the taunting, she managed to maintain her silence. She would not give them the satisfaction. "You could have made such a good ally Blake," Cinder said, feigning legitimate sadness. Her acting failed as she saw Blake twitch slightly at the pain. "I'll offer you a chance, one last chance, join me Blake. I can complete your training, and give you the power you have always wanted."

"I… Don't need your training," Blake said through gritted teeth, fighting the pain that Neo was inflicting on her.

"Oh Blake, if only you knew. If only you had any idea of how weak you truly are. While you were playing at being a hero, I was searching. The things I food out there beyond charted space, the ruins of Malachor, the haunted tombs of Korriban. I have access to power that could strip the galaxy of life."

Blake stared into her eyes, searching for lies. She shivered and twitched, finding nothing but absolution in the face of her enemy. The door to the cell opened, revealing a subtly distraught Winter. Cinder turned, "Admiral, it is a pleasure to see you. I assume the reclamation of Mistral went according to plan?"

"The mission was successful, but," Winter paused, eyeing Blake with disdain. Cinder noticed the look and nodded,

"We shall talk about this elsewhere. This is Blake Belladonna, a former servant of the Empire, turned traitor and ally to Weiss Schnee. She lead the Faunus Rebellion that turned on and helped kill your father." Cinder watched the anger swell in Winter,

"You and your kind will pay, scum," Winter spat out, revolted at the sight of such a disloyal creature. Blake said nothing in return, thankful that Neo had let up her assault. Cinder lead Winter out of the room, Neo following behind, giving Blake one last chilling look before the door slammed down between them.

"Tell me, what happened at Mistral, I sense you are in distress," Cinder said, her voice soft and filled with care. Winter bowed her head in shame,

"It was her, Weiss, she was there. She managed to destroy one of my ships." Cinder rested an arm on Winter shoulder, halting them in the corridor.

"You managed to take the planet, losses are to be expected. Your father would be proud to see you leading his fleet. Soon, very soon, we will be ready, and you will be able to avenge your father. Your, sister, thinks she has won the day, but she has done nothing but doom herself. You are your fathers daughter, more than she could ever be, and you will lead the rebirth of the Empire. Return to Mistral, she will no doubt return, and then, you will entrap her."

Winter smiled, a thin, nervous thing, but a smile nonetheless. "Thank you Mistress." Winter raised her head proudly and made her departure, eager to prepare the fleet for its first major engagement.

* * *

The Sluis Van shipyard, primary staging ground for the section of the New Republic fleet, in which Weiss was assigned, was a hive of activity. All around the _Whiterose,_ frigates, dreadnoughts and corvettes were being refitted, repaired and readied for combat. The remnants of the Empire had not rested, causing havoc and destruction all across the galaxy. Thus the Republic fleet had to be as mobile, as prepared and well armed in order to deal with them. Ships flew in and out of the system constantly, all being sent off to defend New republic planets or integrate more planets to the growing senate.

The little damage that the _Whiterose_ had received had been repaired quickly, now all Weiss was waiting on were orders. "Any word from Ruby yet?" Jaune asked, appearing on the bridge for the seventh time in the last few days. "No reports, yet," Weiss said, both determined not to imply anything bad possibly having happened. Jaune nodded, taking a moment to look out at the shipyard himself. "Any word on when we are going back to Mistral. Pyrrha's getting a little anxious, I don't think I have ever seen her like this."

"There was that time when you were in the medbay, she was quite distraught then," Weiss said teasingly. Jaune smiled, "I'll go tell the others, comm me if you hear anything." Weiss nodded reluctantly, she disliked being forced to go through someone as a medium of communication to her crew, on her ship. Everyone had distanced themselves from her after Ruby had left, displeased she had not gone after her, or at least sent her off with a greater complement of fighters. Like Ruby they were too focused on the individuals around them rather than the war at large. The curse of a soldier, and the curse of a commander.

Of course she felt a great deal of guilt, in both having to leave Ruby to fend for herself and her own hypocrisy. All of Ace squadron, the Faunus commando team, Ren and Penny, they had all helped her in her personal vendetta against her father. True it had ultimately been to save Ozpin, or at least thats what should have been the main goal. Her personal feelings had cost Weiss two ships and risked the lives of everyone she called friend. She couldn't make that mistake again.

Her comm vibrated in her pocket, "Captain Schnee here," She responded.

"Captain," The now familiar voice of Captain Glynda Goodwitch said, "Make your final preparations to leave. We have received the orders to return to Mistral."

"Yes, Ma'am."

* * *

Ruby rolled her ship out of the way of the pursuing freighters fire. "Zwei I need those calculations!" Ruby said as she pulled hard on the flightstick, trying to angle her guns so she could fire back. Behind her the freighter swerved, tracking her relentlessly and never allowing for Ruby to turn fully and fire back.

Zwei started a countdown before they could jump. Ruby dove down, before pulling up hard, causing the freighter to lurch and finally lose sight of the X-wing. Ruby made the split second decision not to jump, and to instead bring her fighter around and engage the freighter. Quickly re-angling her shields she sped towards the slower ship. She fired a full set of bolts into the freighters aft, watching sparks and a few panels fly off as she broke their shielding. Slowing her engines Ruby was able to stay behind the enemy ship, having a much tighter turning radius. She let fly another set of bolts, one of the engines short circuiting and breaking free of the hull. Now drifting with little control, Ruby felt confident she wouldn't be followed. Punching the controls Ruby hit top speed quickly, flying away from the spinning ship. The short jump that she was making would also help to confuse anymore ships following her, that and it gave her time to decide where to travel next.

An hour later Ruby emerged from hyperspace. Once again alone she gave careful thought to her next move. Cato Nemoidia was the only place were she had truly felt connected to the Force. She had felt it again, and that gave her hope. "Zwei, anything more on the datachip? Blake and Yang must have more information about the Jedi," Zwei activated her X-wings screen and played another short holorecording. This time it was Blake, halfway through a report regarding Cinder, "We checked the last known hiding places that the Inquisitors were known to use, no sign of her. I'm not sure if she is even hiding, I doubt she sees the Rebellion as a threat, even after Endor." Ruby forwarded through the recording a little, skipping over more of the general report. Finally she stopped, the image of Blake looking more worried, "I'm worried Yang and I can't face her. We still only have rudimentary control over the force, and only enough knowledge to keep us from falling completely to the darkside again. I went back to Menagerie, found the pool Yang talked about when we were there. This time there were no distractions, no hidden prisons to find. I felt what she was talking about, I even," Blake paused, a soft smile replacing her worry, "I saw someone, someone long gone, like Yang did. That place is strong with the Force. If I could find others, then maybe Yang and I could learn more, grow strong enough to face Cinder. I'm not sure if Yang is willing, but if those places exist, if we can get stronger, then maybe Cinder can too."

Most of what Blake had said had been confusing. Mentions of a mysterious pool, seeing dead people, it sounded strange. It also sounded exactly like what Ruby was looking for. Zwei asked Ruby if they were going back to the _Whiterose,_ "Not yet, we have another stop to make. I'm taking us to Menagerie."


	18. Part 13

Officers and pilots packed into the circular briefing room aboard the _Vale_ under the watchful eyes of Captain Goodwitch, Captain Schnee and General Ozpin. Once everyone was seated the lights dimmed and the holoprojector activated. Glynda stopped forward and begun the lecture, "The planet of Mistral, recently confirmed as part of the Republic, has come under attack by Imperial forces." Weiss watched the front row, seeing the fires burn in the eyes of several Mistralians, particularly Pyrrha. "The _Vale_ shall be leading the attack, accompanied by the _Whiterose_ and several support ships. Scouts have reported that only a few Imperial ships guard the planet, they have not had time to set up a proper defence network. Hopefully it will be a quick and easy fight," Glynda said confidently. Eager looks were shared between everyone in the briefing room. With a wave of dismissal everyone headed back to their ships, eager to deal with the remnants of the Empire.

* * *

"Ace squadron standby for launch," Weiss said over the comms, standing at the helm of the ship. The affirmative came through quickly, Jaune once again in command of the squadron. "Dropship's prepare to launch," Weiss now directing the Faunus assault team that was to go down and secure the planet. Another affirmative, they were ready.

The blue light of hyperspace was quickly replaced by the large swampy planet of Mistral. Weiss spied the Imperial ships, a single Imperial class destroyer, likely the same one that had lead the invasion. Beside it sat an Acclamator class ship and several Tartan class corvettes. "Launch all fighters, Ace leader," Weiss addressing Jaune, "Escort the dropships into orbit then return to the fight. We will cover your approach."

"Copy that _Whiterose,"_ Jaune said as he pulled his X-wing out of the hangar alongside the armoured dropship. Weiss watched the fighters leave, also having time to lookout to the _Vale_ , it's fighter complement flying forward to set up a defensive screen. "Gunnery teams, provide covering fire for those dropships," Weiss ordered, her gunnery officer nodding and passing on the orders. "Move us into position," Weiss said to the control team beside her. The ship swing to its starboard side, guns blazing. Nearly all of the bolts missed their targets, the enemy fighters were still well beyond range and the enemy crusiers even further. What they did do was dissuade any ships from pursuing the dropships.

Weiss stared intently at the Imperial class star destroyer. She was certain it was the same one as before, the one carrying the person calling themselves Winter Schnee. The triangular ship started dishing out its own torrent of laser fire, directed at the _Vale._ The Mon Calamari cruiser absorbed the shots without worry, the shielding of the Mon Calamari was notorious for being some of the best the galaxy had to offer. The comms lit up a moment later, "Dropships are in orbit, returning now," Jaune said.

Jaune turned his X-wing around and headed back towards the battle. He felt confident at the helm of the his fighter, Pyrrha's lessons and the near endless series of missions had kept him well practiced. "Ace leader, we have enemy fighters," Pyrrha said eagerly, Jaune noticing her edge ahead of the rest of the formation.

"Copy that Ace five… Stay in formation," Jaune ordered nervously, hating to correct Pyrrha. Despite her eagerness she dropped back into formation. Ahead of them, a group of blips on their sensors moved blindingly fast. Within seconds they were within visual range, TIE's unlike any Jaune had seen before. As always the cockpit was a eyeball like pod, and instead of two solar panel wings, it boasted three pincer like wings in a triangular formation. "What the hell are those," Sun said with equal parts surprise and caution.

Jaune pushed his engine to the limit, pulling ahead of his squadron. He switched his firing pattern to quad fire, meaning every squeeze of the trigger fired all of his Strike-foils simultaneously. The first fighter came in range and he fired, his four prison bolts flying at his target. The ship spun and managed to avoid three of the bolts, one of them crashing into it's shielding. Jaune stared wide eyed at the fighter, "They have shields," Jaune said with awe into the comms. His squadron broke off as they clashed with the strange TIE's. The enemy ships fired back at them, green laser bolts, blue ion shots and occasionally missiles. These were well equipped TIEs, on par if not better armed than the standard Rebel fighters. "This isn't good!" Neptune groaned as he desperately juked left to avoid being hit. Sun fell in behind Neptune, lining up a easy shot at his attacker. Wasting no time Sun fired his Proton torpedoes, vaporising the fighter, shields or no shields.

Nora's slower ship was not faring well. Her R4 unit screeched as the TIE's made another pass, her shields just withstand the hit. Flipping with all the agility her Y-wing had she managed to line up a shot, firing a few bolts into the fighters shields. "Damn these things won't explode," Nora said with genuine sadness. Pyrrha shot overhead and nailed the shieldless fighter, taking off one of it's wings before melting the cockpit with a single shot. Nora smiled at the pretty explosion and fell in behind Pyrrha.

Jaune was, like usual, in trouble. These ships were harder to take out, and being flown by experienced pilots. His R5 unit warbled a warning, "Guys I need a little help here I have two on my tail,"

"I'm coming!" Pyrrha said, Nora following along with her. The TIE's fired, barley missing Jaune as he looped around towards his friends. Finally levelling out he saw Pyrrha and Nora flying directly at him, firing. Their shots passed over his ship and dispersed the enemy fighters, managing to shred one before it could escape. "I lost my shields!" Sun cried out another shot slamming into he back of his ship, thoroughly destroying his droid. The fighter that managed to avoid being destroyed by Pyrrha and Nora swung back around and fired up at Pyrrha, blowing through her shields and catch one of her wings. The S-foil separated from her ship and electricity coursed through her cockpit. "I'm hit, bad, I lost one of my guns," Pyrrha said as she desperately tried to regain control of her ships. Jaune grit his teeth, flying over to cover Pyrrha.

"This isn't good, this is not good," her mumbled nervously, "TIE's, thankfully just Eyeballs and Squints." He called out."That's something I never thought I would say," He said to himself.

"What's the plan _leader_!" Sun shouted, putting anxious emphasis on the word leader.

"Pull out, uh, everyone make for the ship, hopefully any of the fighters that follow get caught up in the crossfire."

* * *

"Captain, Ace squadron have encountered advanced TIE fighters and are pulling out."

"What?" Weiss said as she stepped over to the officers console. A brief readout appeared of the enemy fighter class, "Shielding, missiles, three wings…" Weiss cast her mind back to her days as an Imperial, trying to remember if she ever heard about these fighters. Maybe once or twice she heard them gossiped about, prototype fighters that seemed to match the description of the ones that were currently harassing her fighters, TIE defenders. "Cover their retreat and move closer to the enemy capital ships," Weiss said confidently, "Focus your fire on the main star destroyer, and…" Weiss stopped herself unsure if her idea was worth it.

"Yes Captain?" One of her officers prompted,

"Contact the star destroyer." If Winter was a Schnee, if maybe she were related to her, she might be able to convince her to surrender. If Winter had too much of Weiss' father in her, then all hope was lost.

* * *

It had been over a year since Ruby had visited Menagerie. It was still a grey, mostly barren wasteland. The Faunus had said they would return one day and try to rebuild, but the galaxy, for the time being, was still too troubled to allow anyone to truly settle down. Working from her memory, Ruby tired to locate the spot that Blake had talked about. She had a rough idea of where it might be from the few stories Yang and Blake told of their time on the planet.

She quickly found the blackened forest they had talked about, easily spotted in the rocky plains and cliffs that made up the planet.

Setting down in a small clearing Ruby got out of her flight suit, opting for the more durable outfit that she kept in the small cargo compartment on the underside on the ship. Simple pants, shirt and boots it was nothing special, the only thing that had any real value was the thick leather jacket, maroon in colour. She clasped on her belt which used to hold her blaster pistol, thanks to Torchwick the holster was empty. Now only her lightsaber, dangling from its clip, served as her weapon.

Stretching out Ruby prepared for a long hike.

* * *

"Captain we are being hailed by the enemy," Winter's first officer said. Winter nodded allowing the transmission.

"Greetings Rebel frigate, _Whiterose,_ how may I be of assistance," Winter said calmly and with a sinister grin.

Weiss appeared on the holoprojector, cautious of the tone Winter had taken. "Imperial star destroyer _Beowolf,_ I have called to offer you a chance to surrender. You are outnumbered and will be treated fairly under New Republic law if you surrender." Weiss matched Winter's even, impersonal tone. Winter nodded thoughtfully,

"I shall offer you the same, surrender and you will not be destroyed. It has been a long time since you have visited Atlas." Weiss stared at her, confusion and suspicion playing out on her face. "If you do not surrender, you will witness the full power of the Atlas fleet," Winter said. Weiss stayed silent, trying to find the correct words that wouldn't scare Winter off or anger her, try and convince her. Unable to find a subtle solution, Weiss spoke plainly,

"What are you? I am an only child, so you can't be my sister. All my other relatives are dead as well, so what are you? A human replica droid? I know my father was very interested in those," Winter stared back, showing no tells. Weiss glared, studying her more closely, "A clone? My father kept many things left by the old Republic, cloning facilities stolen from the Emperor were one such thing." Winter twitched slightly and Weiss knew. "How could he…" Weiss whispered to herself, Winter apparently hearing the words. Winter scowled, nostrils flaring as she abruptly cut off communication.

"Signal the fleet," Winter said to an officer, "It's time we ended this battle."

* * *

Jaune slowed his X-wing, pulling up behind Sun, covering his unshielded ship as his R2 unit attempted repairs. Ace squadron flew underneath the covering fire of the _Whiterose,_ the blanketing lasers dissuading any pursuing TIE's. "Keep it steady," Jaune said, the squadron keeping a very tight formation. Sensor alarms went off in every ship, indicating new ships entering the system.

"Did we call for reinforcements?" Sun asked curiously as he leaned forward to look out into he empty space where the ships were supposed to be arriving. Instead of Republic cruisers and fighters, a fleet of star destroyers, mostly Victory class, emerged from hyperspace. "This is keeps getting worse," Sun said,

"It always does," Neptune added. Jaune scanned the new ships quickly,

"Why does it have to always get worse," he said, gulping back fear.

* * *

Weiss starred at the holoprojector that held the battles layout. The sudden arrival of Imperials ships had them outnumbered, "Turn the ship around, prepare to make the jump out of here." The commanding officers rushed about, all sending orders to their respective stations. Weiss commed the _Vale_ , "Captain Goodwitch, we are preparing to leave,"

"As are we Captain Schnee. Wait…" Glynda turned and listened to a report from one of her staff, her eyes widening at the news. "Captain Schnee sensor are reporting a trio, a net, of Interdictor class cruisers set up just beyond this new blockade. They have set up their gravity well projectors, we are unable to make the jump." Glenda clenched her fist as she spoke, her other hand pushing her glasses up her nose ever so slightly. Weiss stared out at the fleet that faced them. "What't the plan? How do we escape?" Weiss said frantically, trying desperately to see a gap in their blockade. "We need to disable at least two of those Interdictor cruisers in order to get enough room to make the jump,"

"We also have to make it through the blockade," Weiss added.

"I will send my fighter teams through to attack them, we will have to try and push through. Contact the commando team and order them to get out of the system anyway they can," Weiss nodded, the communication shutting off.

"Tell Ren to divert power to the forward shields and engines, and contact Ace squadron. They will need to help with the attack run against the Interdictor cruisers."

* * *

Ruby hiked through the rock and the mud. It rained as it so often did on the broken planet, making Ruby's trek all the more difficult. Eventually she made it to the denser part of the dead forest, the black trees providing a little shelter from the cold rain. Hand raised above her head she pressed on, trying to find the pool.

Repeatedly she would shut her eyes, trying to recreate the feeling she had felt on Cato Nemoidia, trying to tap into the Force. Every time she did so, she did so cautiously. Her only real lessons on the particulars of the Force came from Cinder's messages, Ruby had no idea how closely to follow the teachings. There was a darkside, a malevolent power feeding off emotion, that Cinder drew her powers from. She also made mention of the lightside, but only in passing, and annoyingly negative reference.

Cinder was convinced it was stronger, certain that its power was absolute. Ruby didn't fully understand it, maybe it was more powerful, and if so could she use it for good?

Ruby stumbled, slipping in the mud. She tumbled down a small slope, sloshing around in the wet before coming to sit up in a clearing, dominated by a single pool of water. Ruby smiled, this looked exactly as Blake had described.

"Alright pool, let's do this," Ruby said out loud. She began by walking around the pool, trying to feel if there was anything special about it. She passed by a large rock, her hand passing over it's smooth surface. Frowning at her inability to feel anything she sat, leaning on the rock for support. "I guess I will try meditating," Ruby mumbled as she crossed her legs. Like before, she closed her eyes, trying to grasp the cool, tingling feeling that existed just beyond her senses. It hit her like a wave, suddenly and without warning. It overwhelmed her, the power she felt by he pool. She fell back, slightly dizzy as she opened her eyes.

Ruby tried again, the shock hitting her again. This time she didn't fall back, instead she fought the dizziness, took deep breaths. It got easier, before long it felt natural. Ruby let out a sigh and opened her eyes, "Now let's try something fun." Ruby laid her lightsaber in front of her, closing her eyes again she focused on trying to lift it. Cinder's writings had referenced basic levitation as a minor, insignificant power compared to her _amazing_ new ones. To Ruby it seemed a good place to start.

The lightsaber shook, quivering on the ground before her. In her mind she imagined it floating before her, effortlessly twirling. In reality it only twitched. Ruby furrowed her brow, trying as hard as she could to control, direct, the power that she felt. The lightsaber lifted off the ground, at first only a few inches, then nearly a foot.

Her eyes snapped open as she heard what sounded like a heavy footstep. The lightsaber dropped, Ruby reaching for it, grabbing it out of the air. A figure emerged from the forest, dark slicked back hair, and a relaxed, confident grin on his face. "Hey there kid,"

"U-uncle? U-uncle Qrow?"

"The one and only," Qrow said as she took a swig from his canteen. Ruby stared at him with wide eyes,

"Does…Does this mean you're dead?" Ruby asked, thinking back to the mentions of Blake and Yang seeing what seemed like ghosts at the pool. Qrow stared at her in confusion,

"What? Do I look dead?" He said, tucking away his canteen. Ruby leapt up and ran over, embracing him tightly. Qrow smiled and returned the hug lazily.

"It's been so long, years, I thought you were dead, or missing like Yang's mum, or I dunno just out there," Ruby rambled. Qrow nodded,

"One of those is right."

"What have you been doing? We could have used your help!" Ruby said, suddenly cross with her Uncle. Qrow raised his hands defensively,

"I have been helping, I've been helping Yang for a while, on Ozpin's request. Though she didn't know that I was, she's too much like Raven, never asks for help." Ruby giggled, he wasn't wrong.

"What are you'd doing here?"

"Heard your name mentioned in some unsavoury circles, some bad people are looking for you. Thought you might need a hand."

"I think I have it under control," Ruby said with a smirk. Qrow nodded,

"Yeah I saw that bit of fancy flying you performed when dealing with the Malachite sisters. Haven't seen that kind of flying since… Well since your mother." Ruby looked up at him appreciatively,

"Uncle, do… Do you know about much about dad, well, much about him being a Jedi. Cause, I, I need to learn more about it, Yang's in trouble and I need to help her, and this is the only way."

Qrow sighed, taking out his canteen and taking a deep swig. With a tired look he shook his head, "I really hate all this stuff. Jedi, the Force, caused me way too much trouble."

"Please, it's for Yang," Ruby pleaded. Qrow took another drink,

"For Yang I'll do it. Sit down kid, it's a long, long story."

* * *

The fighters converged in between the two Republic capital ships. Ace squadron and Green squadron, Ace under Jaune and Green under Oobleck. The group of fighters speared towards the now firing blockade. The star destroyers pelted fire towards at the two Republic cruisers, ignoring the swarm flying towards them. "Ace leader, you will attack target two, I have highlighted it on your sensors, oh, ah, use your proton torpedoes and target the gravity well projectors."

"Yes sir," Jaune said cautiously, watching the barrage flying towards the ships.

"It's commander, I prefer commander," Oobleck corrected.

"Yes commander," Jaune said, earning a chuckle from a few members of both squadrons.

The _Whiterose_ drove towards the blockade, the _Vale_ and the few corvettes heading towards it alongside. The shields absorbed the multitude of turbolaser bolts, flashing with each hit. Weiss had ordered the guns to be stopped until needed, the energy being thrown fully into the ships survival. "Move to mark three-four-four, make for that gap between those destroyers,"

"Yes Ma'am."

The corvettes pulled ahead of the slower cruisers, managing to dodge most of the heavy fire. One to the starboard side of the _Whiterose_ took a direct hit, the shields failing and the ship taking a heavy hit. Spying weakness, the guns of the star destroyers turned and fired upon the weakened ship. A few short bursts of fire slammed into the corvette and the ship exploded. The ship rocked suddenly, "What was that?" Weiss said, directing it at her entire command team,

"Captain the _Beowolf_ has targeted us, we are taking several hits to our aft defector shields."

"Blast it," Weiss cursed, "Push us as fast as we can go, try and get out of their range."

The TIE's started emerging from the star destroyers, making a beeline for Ace and Green squadron. "Incoming fighters, ignore them and keep heading for the target, there is no use in us fighting them," Oobleck said as he accelerated. Jaune followed suit, sending power to his front shields. The TIE's came in range and started firing, Ace squadron exploding into action and evasive manoeuvres. Sun and Neptune took shots when they could, lancing a few TIE's. Pyrrha flew beside Jaune, whirling through the arrows of green. Nora, the slowest of the group in her older Y-wing, sat back and fired wildly, laughing manically as she did so.

The group flew under a star destroyer, easily avoiding it's lazy shots. "Jaune look out!" Pyrrha warned as they came out underside of the star destroyer. Ahead of them two ships where converging, trying to block the advance of the capital ships by flying dangerously close to each other. Jaune spun his fighter left, aiming for the gap between the two.

The guns on the two Victory class ships spun and fired on the fighters. Jaune snapped off a few shots, disabling one as he flew by. Pyrrha, Sun and Neptune followed suit and managed to disabled several turrets. Nora, also carrying a larger deal of ordnance than the rest of her squadron, fired off a few torpedoes, further crippling the forward defences of the two star destroyers. Green squadron swung up beside them, all having broken free from the larger ships of the blockade. Behind them though, came more TIE fighters.

Jaune flicked his eyes over to see a Green X-wing take a direct hit to its rear, engines detaching in the explosion and leaving nothing but vapour and scrap. "Nora, can you pull in behind those Eyeballs harassing Green squadrons?" Jaune said, eyes once again focused on what was ahead.

"Oh you betcha!" Nora said enthusiastically as her ship broke from the formation, drifting over towards Green squadron. Soon she found herself behind the TIE's chasing down Green squadron. "Whoooo!" She cried as her hand squeezed the trigger, her shots hitting wings, engines and the cockpits of the pursuing fighters. "Nice job Nora," Jaune said with a smile. The fighters were now in visual range of the Interdictor cruisers that had bottled the Republic ships in. Similar to star destoyers, if only slightly smaller, the main differentiating feature of the Interdictor cruiser was its large circular gravity field projectors. Creating an artificial hyperspace shadows, it stopped any ship within the area from jumping to hyperspace, even pulling ships out if they passed through the field.

"Targeting computers on," Jaune said, switching his own on, the targeter sliding down and over his right eye.

* * *

The ship continued to shudder and shake, several shots making their way through the defector shields of the _Whiterose._ "We have a breach on decks nine and ten!"

"We just lost one of our starboard turbolasers!"

"Lock down the breached decks, forget the turbolasers. Get Ren on the comms!" Weiss ordered over the shouting that engulfed the bridge. The ship had flown into the thick of the blockade now, taking fire from nearly every direction. "Tell me when those Interdictors are down," Weiss turned back to the comms, "Ren, status report."

"The shields are at their limit, and the engines are going as fast as I can push them," he said calmly, "I could leech power from a few non vital systems to keep our shields up longer."

"Get it done," Weiss turned away from the comms to look back out over the battle. The _Vale_ was slightly behind them in progress, but was returning fire quite unrelentingly and seeming to damage several ships on it's way through. Of the five corvettes that had come with them initially, two had made it through and were heading towards the Interdictors, well behind the fighter squadrons. The other three hadn't made it even halfway through the blockade. The lights dimmed on the bridge, Weiss guessing that one of the non essential systems Ren had mentioned had been some of the lighting on the ship. "Captain, two star destroyers are attempting to block our escape," an officer said as she pointed towards two crisscrossing ships. "Move below them, they manoeuvred too early, we should be able to get under them before they can block us in," Weiss said, eyes flicking back over to the _Vale_ , having a much harder time as it had pulled ahead and was in still deep in the throng of Imperial ships.

* * *

Jaune watched the numbers countdown on his targeting computer as he grew closer to the Interdictor. The targeting brackets flashed as he came in range, tapping the trigger to release the pair of torpedoes. Around him the others did the same, sending a stream of missiles sailing towards the gravity well projectors. The purplish streaks slammed into the ships hull, setting of a series of bright explosions. One of the bulbous spheres exploded, Jaune's astromech droid beeping happily as it confirmed the failure of the Imperial ships gravity well projections systems. "Yeah!" Sun shouted waving his fist in victory, the others offering similar cheers of victory. Across from them, Green squadron also dropped its payload, disabling another Interdictor. " _Vale_ , this is Green leader, the Interdictor net is broken, we have succeeded and are ready to make the jump to hyperspace."

"Very good, just in time Bartholomew," Glynda said, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose and casting aside a strand of hair that had fallen over her face. Around her the _Vale_ began falling apart, the bombardment of blockade having torn through much of the Mon Calamari cruiser. "Contact the _Whiterose_ and tell them to make the jump when they can."

Weiss let out a sigh of relief as she got the message. Her crew went to work immediately preparing to make the jump. She grimaced as a piece of her ship, only an outer layer of the hull, broke off under the barrage, red hot. "Tell Ace squadron they have permission to leave, take us away from here as soon as possible." A minute later, still suffering under the heavy fire, the _Vale_ flitted out of existence, jumping out of the system. The _Whiterose_ jumped seconds later, the space above Mistral calming instantly. Leaving only the Imperial fleet, and a smolderingly furious Winter.

* * *

 **There we have it, the last of the daily chapters, back to a more weekly schedule. So far the votes are pretty close between Vampire and Viking (with Viking slightly ahead). With that in mind I might throw another one out there, having forgotten to put it down initially. WESTERN ADVENTURE! Yeah cowboys and bandits! If you want it vote for it, otherwise keep on keeping on.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading, hope you are still having a good time with the story, so until next time. May the force be with you.**


	19. Part 14

**Many years ago…**

Qrow bolted through the spaceport, periodically looking back to see Summer dragging Ruby along. Yang followed a few steps behind them, constantly looking back to make sure her father was following. Taiyang was the last in their procession, his yellow lightsaber active, and being used to deflect the flurry of blaster shots the pursuing stormtroopers where throwing at them. Within the ranks of the white troopers strolled a black figure, what Taiyang had called an Inquisitor.

Qrow stopped and aimed his blaster, motioning for Summer to drop down low. He snap fired down the hall, missing, but slowing the advance of the troopers. "Hurry up!" He shouted, firing again. Taiyang caught up with the rest of his family, "Where is your ship?" Taiyang asked, standing beside Qrow and deflecting shots.

"I parked it in docking bay twelve, you got any fun ideas about how to deal with these guys," Qrow said as he nailed a stormtrooper in the chest.

"None that involve us getting out alive," Taiyang said sporting his devious Xiao Long smile.

"Don't smile like that, that usually means I end up spending time in a batch tank," Qrow said with a groan.

"Uh, could we please try and make it to the ship?" Summer asked pointedly as she shielded her children. Qrow nodded, firing a few more unaimed shots before pulling back towards his hangar. Taiyang took more time, slowly taking steps back as he focused on deflecting back every bolt that was fired against his family.

He didn't picture what would happen if he failed, if he did he wouldn't be able to stay focused, to resist the temptation to pull on the darkside. Instead he thought of all the happy memories he had of them, intent on surviving and making more. The Inquisitor stood behind it's wall of troopers, watching Taiyang intently through a black helmet. She, for Taiyang assumed it was female, was smaller than the troopers but much more menacing. "Stop being a hero, get in here!" Qrow shouted, forcing Taiyang to back off.

Qrow burst into the hangar, beelining for his ship. He didn't have time to react as another group of troopers emerged from behind the vessel, all raising their blaster rifles. Qrow brought up his pistol, but was too slow on the trigger as a bolt slammed into his shoulder and threw him to the floor.

Summer didn't dare draw her weapon, understanding that she would be shot if she went for it. Ruby and Yang cowered behind her, Yang still looking back to watch her father hold off the other group of Imperials. "Don't move!" One of the troopers said, his voice warbled by his helmet.

Taiyang felt a chill run down his spine, and he turned for a second to see Summer, Ruby and Yang at the mercy of the Empire. He grit his teeth, ignoring the fear and anger that threatened to consume him. He rolled backwards, laser fire flying above him. He came up beside his family, nudging them aside with the force, out of sight of the first group of Imperials. The squad laying in ambush in the hangar opened fire, but not quick enough to stop Taiyang's dash forward. With a sweep of his lightsaber he felled three, throwing two against the hull of Qrow's ship with the Force, and stabbing the last through the chest.

Summer pulled the young Ruby towards the ship, Qrow standing shakily and following. Yang stumbled after them, still in awe of her father.

The Inquisitor and her stormtroopers entered the hangar, firing at the ramp. Instead of the usual red laser, the troopers fired their stun bolts at the children and mother. Summer drew and fired back, killing a trooper before she was knocked unconscious by a stun bolt. Tumbling down the ramp she lay motionless on the floor of the hangar bay. Ruby rushed down, crying out for her mother, before she too was hit and sent into a dreamless sleep. Yang stared down in horror, only to have Qrow yank her inside the ship and into cover. Still clutching his wounded shoulder he returned fire, trying to make an opening so he could grab Ruby and Summer, or let Taiyang do so.

Taiyang growled, the darkside calling to him more than ever before. He moved in front of his family, now determined not just to escape, but to bring down the people who had hurt his family.

The Inquisitor stepped forward now, igniting her own lightsaber.

The blades clashed, Taiyang fully engulfing himself in the Force, just managing to hold back the darkness that tried to consume him. The Force flowed through him, directing him, almost completely take control of his actions. His blade moved quicker than it ever had before, spinning in his hands and slamming down on the Inquisitors red saber.

Qrow still fired away at the stormtroopers, still unable to make it down the ramp to Ruby and Summer. In his mind he wished Raven had been there to help, but knew she wasn't coming.

Yang watched what little she could, having been pushed behind Qrow. Her father seemed to be doing well, but Yang could see the strain in his face, the tired look she had only seen after he had spent hours practicing with his blade.

It was now that the Inquisitor started fighting back. She was fast, ruthless in her attacks. Her blade slipped past Taiyang's flurry of strikes, grazing his leg, then his shoulder. Reeling from the hits he visibly slowed, eyes darting back to the motionless bodies of his daughter and partner. The split second, the moment he gave something other than the fight his full attention, the Inquisitor struck the final blow. Her blade stabbed up and through him, his face grew pale and expressing shock. He tried to mumble a few words, but ultimately failed, faling back and off of the Inquisitors blade.

Yang screamed, reaching out for her father. Qrow held her back, looking panicked at the sight of his friends death. Blaster bolts continued to strike his ship, and now the Inquisitor strode confidently towards him. He slammed his fist on the ramps controls, shutting the door. Yang still screamed, still reached for her father, and just before the door shut, his lightsaber flew into her hand, taking her by surprise.

Qrow took off, guilt swelling stronger in his stomach. He could hear Yang whimpering, and felt a tear roll down his own face.

* * *

Qrow sunk down onto the stone near the pool. He took a heavy swig of his drink, letting Ruby wipe away the tears that had formed in her eyes. "I thought you were dead, thought the Inquisitor would have killed you. So I took Yang away, hid her. I was a damned fool, got too acquainted the bottle." Qrow said as he stared hatefully at the drink in his hand. "I kept looking out for Yang, doing what I could to mess with the Empire, started working as a spy for Ozpin, thats when I heard about you. I'm sorry I didn't find you sooner, I… Well I couldn't face one of the people I left behind."

Ruby rested a hand on his knee, "It's not your fault, if you hadn't left, you would have died, and Yang would have been taken in by the Empire. You did what you could." Qrow smiled, shaking his head,

"Just like your mother, too damned forgiving."

The two sat silently, both reminiscing about Summer. "Your father always said, that it was you, Yang and your mother that gave him his power. Without something, someone, to fight for, he was as good as Nerf herder with nothing to herd."

Ruby sat there thoughtfully, keen to try using he Force again, fueled by determination. Qrow watched her resume her meditative position, closing her eyes and setting down her lightsaber. Ruby focused as she had before, now though she kept her mind busy with her motivations. Yang, Blake, they needed her to be strong, to free them. The thoughts swirled around her, constantly directing her, forcing her to remember who she had left behind. She had gotten over her mothers death, it would always hurt, but now she could withstand it. No, it wasn't her mother who threatened to break her concentration, threatened to push her towards the dark power she felt at the edge of her consciousness. It was the white haired girl that had caused her so much worry, and yet so much happiness.

The lightsaber floated in front of her, the power coming with ease now. It dipped occasionally, whenever her thoughts strayed to Weiss.

For the next hour, Ruby repeated the exercise. Each time the lightsaber would lift a little faster, stay afloat a little longer, stay ever so more still. Qrow sat and watched, taking the occasional drink, the sight not unfamiliar to him, yet still not normal. "Your not going to be able to break Yang out with that trick," he commented snidely. Ruby frowned, the saber dropping into her lap, "Well it's the best I can do." Qrow leant down beside her,

"Try it again,"

"But you said-"

"Just do it." Ruby closed her eyes with an indignant scowl, calling on the Force again. The lightsaber rose, now not taking much effort. Qrow poked her cheek, breaking Ruby's concentration, the saber falling back down.

"Why did you do that!"

"If you can't keep that up while being distracted, the stormtroopers are going to have an easy time shooting you." Qrow stood back up, moving back to his seat on the rock. "Now, do it again, but this time don't screw it up."

Ruby tried again, only to have Qrow throw a pebble at her, light enough to not do damage, hard enough to be annoying. "Ouch!" Ruby said, rubbing the spot where the pebble had hit her, her lightsaber splashing into the mud. Qrow picked up another stone, waiting for Ruby to close her eyes. Ruby growled under her breath but shut her eyes, lifting her weapon off the ground. This time she managed to ignore the stone hitting her, smiling at her victory. Then another struck her, causing her to flinch, and lose concentration. "Better, but your still not saving anyone." Ruby ignored her uncle, focusing on lifting the saber. Now she kept her eyes open, seeing her handiwork float before her. The first stone was thrown, but now Ruby was able to move out of its way. Qrow threw a handful of mud and stones, the spray of projectiles forcing Ruby to take the hit. The lightsaber faltered int he air, descending ever so slightly as mud dripped down across her forehead. Ruby pulled it back up, gritting her teeth against the disgusting feeling of the sludge sliding down her back and face. Qrow held back a laugh, throwing his final stone.

It flew true, but just before striking Ruby, it stopped. As if caught by an invisible hand, now floating alongside Ruby.

Ruby's eyes flicked over to the stone, her excitement bubbling. She let her concentration drop, catching both saber and rock. "Did you see that! I caught it!"

"That you did. You also learnt something I wish I had a long time ago. You can't always run from the things chasing you, not when its in your power, or is your duty, to stop them."

* * *

The _Whiterose_ limped along behind the _Vale,_ both having just exited hyperspace. Looking out at the other ship Weiss saw the extensive damage. Jagged scars dragged across the hull, frayed metal jutting out from the many holes burnt into the ship. Sparks of electricity rippled across the many wounds.

Just seeing the _Vale_ like that, gave Weiss a sickening feeling. Her ship was undoubtedly in the same or worse condition. Apparently her fighters were in bad shape as well, the whole squadron under repair. Ahead of them sat the Sluis Van shipyards, ready to receive the broken fleet.

* * *

The _Beowolf_ appeared from hyperspace, victorious over the Rebel counter attack. Though of Winter, it was still a failure. The Interdictor's had taken damage, as had some of her star destroyers. To top it all off, the Rebels had escaped, her sister, had escaped. Winter turned to her communications officer, "Send word to General Ironwood, we need the repairs completed on all damaged ships as soon as possible. Prepare my shuttle as well."

Winter spun on her heel and left the bridge, heading for the hangar bay.

* * *

Yang's breathing was fast and sharp. Her hands shook, tears forming in her eyes. She was alone in her cell, alone in the almost permanent darkness. The only thing she could hear, were Blake's screams. For days she had been silent, resisting them, unlike Yang. Now they had finally got through, and it hurt Yang more than any physical torture could. She tried again, to calm down and break the locks with the Force. In her state though, she could do little more than rattle them slightly. Yang knew she could break them, knew she could free herself, if she pushed hard enough. If she listened to the screams, if she lashed out with all the power she could muster. No control, no throttling of her strength to stay in control.

Despite the call, she resisted. Even if she could break out, even if she could beat Cinder and Neo, she would lose Blake forever. She could very well lose herself forever. Yang took a deep breath, calming herself down, despite constantly flinching at the sounds of Blake's pain. "We'll get out of this, I'll get us out of this," She whispered to herself in the dark.

* * *

Ruby ran through the dead forest, the area now familiar after days of training in it. Qrow ran beside her, easily keeping pace and seemingly unaffected by the exertion. Ruby however panted heavily, the slight burn of each breath telling her she should stop. Qrow lobbed a stick at her, Ruby dropping into a roll to avoid it. As she came up from the roll Qrow speared another log at her, this time Ruby swatting at it with her hand, using the Force to deflect it away. Having come to a stop, Qrow threw a kick, Ruby brining u her arms to defend herself and catch his leg. Entrancing herself in the Force, she felt her movements become quicker, her hands quickly wrapping around her uncle's foot before he could pull it back. Throwing it to the side, causing Qrow to stumble, Ruby threw out her hand, sending a wave of energy his way, knocking him onto his back. Qrow picked himself up, smiling and nodding while he did. "Nice work, your getting better."

"It's taking too long, we need to get to Yang."

"We won't be able to do anything if you're not ready."

"If we don't go after her soon she won't be alive to save," Ruby said firmly. Qrow nodded,

"If you think you're ready then we can leave, but you have to be sure. We won't get a second chance at this though, if we go after Yang, it'll be do or die." Ruby only thought for a moment before responding,

"I'm ready, I have to be."

"Then let's get going," Qrow said turning towards his ship.

"We're not going alone though," Ruby said, Qrow looking back with an raised eyebrow.

"Breakouts are usually a little easier with small teams, bringing the fleet down on Cinder and her allies could end badly, for Yang and the Republic."

"No, I'm not talking about the fleet, or any large ship for that matter. My squadron though, a group of small fighters are hard to stop if they are quick enough."

"For hit and run missions maybe, but that's not quite what we are pulling off," Qrow said as he crossed his arms, waiting to hear Ruby's plan.

"Why can't it be both. Cinder needs to be stopped, just freeing Yang isn't enough. She will only continue to hunt Yang and Blake down. As it stands, if she actually has the power she talks about, then she could very well turn into another Emperor. If we hit her hard and fast, we can do serious damage, maybe even kill her, as well as getting Yang out. I've done this a thousand times when we were still the Rebellion, I can pull it off."

Qrow studied her thoughtfully, "If you can do it, you should, but you'll be risking everyone you bring."

"I trust they are good enough to do the job, they haven't let me down yet."

* * *

It had been two days since the battle over Mistral. Jaune and the rest of Ace squadron, fighters still being repaired, had grown bored, still sour about the defeat they had suffered. Sitting around the hangar, trying to help Ren get them back into fighting shape, has grown stale fast, especially when they were all itching to strike back at the Empire. No one knew what was coming next, whether they would surrender Mistral for the time being, or if they would try and hit Atlas, the apparent headquarters for this sect of the broken Empire. New cruisers were being flown in, helping bolster the tiny fleet Ozpin had assembled. Whatever was coming it was going to be big, but until then, Ace squadron was benched.

"I can't believe you guys managed to get the fighters so torn up. You've really let me down this time," Jaune heard someone say. Turning abruptly he saw the welcome sight of Ruby standing in the doorway of the hangar. Slowly everyone else noticed, jumping up and running over to their lost leader.

"What took you so long! We could have used you in the last battle, Jauney over here nearly got us killed," Sun laughed as he embraced Ruby.

"Hardly, without Jaune we would have been scrap," Pyrrha said in his defence. Jaune just rolled his eyes and hugged Ruby.

"Well it looks to me like you guys are scrap," Ruby said, looking over at the battered fighters.

"It was rough, they have more advanced TIE's, shields, missiles, they're proper fighters," Jaune reported.

"That and all the new big ones," Nora said in reference to the new fleet of star destroyers. "So where's Blake, and Yang? Did you find them?"

Ruby looked grim, "No, they were captured by the Empire, but I'm pretty sure they are still alive."

"Pretty sure?" Neptune said quizzically.

"There still out there, I can feel it."

"So, what's the plan then?" Sun asked excitedly,

"Yeah! Are we going to blow something up?!" Nora said practically bouncing with anticipation. Ruby smiled, nodding slowly,

"Short version of the plan; we fly in and try to take out as many big targets as we can, well you will be doing that. I will be heading in after Yang and Blake while everyone is distracted."

"Not exactly a full developed plan." Jaune said anxiously,

"Our best ones never are," Ruby retorted, causing Jaune to laugh and nod in agreement.

"What about Weiss? Is she in on this too?" Pyrrha asked. Ruby graced slightly, looking very nervous,

"Yeah, I uh, should probably, go talk to her, about stuff."

"You do that, we will try and harass Ren into getting things done quicker," Nora said as she skipped over to where Ren sat underneath on of the damaged X-wings. Ruby sighed, heading towards the bridge.

* * *

Weiss sipped at the hot drink she had brought up to the bridge. She would often spend time up here rather than in her quarters or any of the recreational rooms. Of all places, she was most comfortable here. Yet, this time, sitting alone on the bridge, watching repair drones fly over the hull of her damaged ship, she felt uneasy.

Ruby was back, alive and well. Weiss was of course glad that she was back, but the fact that she hadn't come to say hello to Weiss yet still disturbed her. As if on command, the doors to the bridge hissed and slid open, revealing Ruby.

She was different, in the short time she had spent away, she had changed. Now she was slightly more reserved, so much as to be noticed in the way she walked, the way she carried herself. "Hey," Ruby said softly,

"Hello," Weiss said as she set down her drink. "Welcome back," Weiss said assuming a more commanding pose. Ruby took a long step forward and embraced her, surprising Weiss.

"I'm sorry I left, I heard about Mistral."

"Well, uh, yes, I wish you had been there, we might have fared a little better."

"I'm sorry I had to leave, sorry I got all angry, I'm just really sorry."

"It's fine Ruby, times are a little tough and we all have pressures to deal with," Weiss now returning the hug eagerly.

"I need your help,"

"Ah, so you coming back is-"

"Don't finish that thought Weiss," Ruby interrupted stepping back from the hug. "I came back because I needed to resolve things between us as well. I also need to tell you some stuff." Ruby cast her eyes down, trying to find the right words.

"What is it?" Weiss said, scared she didn't want to know, scared Ruby was going to end their relationship.

"I… I have a power. I got it from my dad,"

"Your father, the Jedi?"

"Yeah, I'm… Well I'm trying to become one myself, if I don't I won't be able to save Yang."

Weiss was silent for a second, "I'm not entirely sure what that means,"

"Don't worry about the details, just know that I need to set things right with you, save Yang, and stop Cinder."

"I assume that means Yang was captured, and I do remember some talk of this Cinder after Menagerie."

"Yes, she was there, and she is the one in control of the forces you faced at Mistral."

Ruby explained everything she had learnt, Weiss adding the information regarding the clone going by the name Winter Schnee. "If she really has the kind of powers you think she does, then maybe, maybe Winter is under her control, being forced to do this," Weiss said hopefully.

"Maybe, I'm not really sure of all the limitations but it's definitely possible."

"Then I can help her, have to help her. If she really is a clone, if she's really like me, than she needs to leave the Empire before it destroys her." Weiss stroked her chin slowly, thinking. "I'm coming with you, Cinder may be the main threat, but if Winter is allowed to continue down her path, it could be disastrous for her and the Republic. Even without Cinder's help."

"Weiss this mission is too dangerous-"

"No, I'm coming and thats final, if you really care about me then you will let me go. Hell, I'm your commanding officer, so I order you to let me go." Ruby smiled, kissing Weiss fiercely.

"I do care about you, love you. I couldn't concentrate, couldn't think straight, worried that I had screwed up, made you unhappy."

"Im sorry I gave you reason to do so, I sorry I can be so… Impersonal, cold."

"You're in a tough spot, you have a lot of people to worry about. If you always followed me on whatever impulse pushes me forward, then I would be dead, and so would everyone I care about." Weiss smirked, shaking her head,

"Isn't that exactly what I'm doing now?" Ruby laughed nervously,

"Well, yeah, I guess so, but I'm sure everything will be fine."

"We'll pull it off somehow, we always manage to."

Ruby grinned confidently, standing proudly. She was ready, ready to face whatever Cinder could throw at her. She was ready to test herself, become the Jedi she was born to be.

* * *

 **Boom. Getting very close to the end, but hopefully it's going to be one hell of an ending. In other news, I have started preparing my next stories. The votes were pretty closely in favour of both Supernatural crime story and Viking story. In relation to this, I will be giving any pateron peeps (yes I actually set it up, so if you want you can fund my madness) the test chapters of each fic and letting them decide. So hopefully there are some of you to help me decide. The link for my pateron is**

 **/dappere**

 **I think thats enough shameless advertising. Thanks for reading.  
** **NEXT TIME: The showdown**


	20. Part 15

"We're sorry Mistress, the girl escaped and has disappeared," Emerald said, her head bowed as she knelt before Cinder.

"She's not as weak as we thought," Mercury said, kneeling beside Emerald. Cinder paced slowly in front of them,

"Yes, she is no longer ignorant of our ways. I am disappointed that she managed to evade you, but it makes little difference now, she will come to me."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Emerald said, daring to look up into Cinder's eyes. Cinder smiled softly,

"No, you will let her come to me. Then I shall let you destroy her, only after she has realised the folly of her ways." Cinder waved her hand, dismissing her two acolytes. "James, send word to Winter, tell her to expect an attack on this facility. I want her here orchestrating the defence, hopefully she is up to the task."

"I believe she will be, whatever the Rebels throw at us will be easily destroyed. I doubt they will even try, it would be suicide."

"Yes, well, no matter what you think," Cinder said, an edge to her voice, "You will pass on this message and help prepare the defences." Ironwood nodded with a sour expression on his face, but left to follow his orders. "Soon, nearly all my greatest threats will be here, in one place, and soon I will be without equal." Cinder stared out at the shipyards, watching as the star destroyers drifted into defensive positions.

* * *

"Sadly I cannot authorise this mission Captain Schnee," Ozpin said from behind his desk. Weiss stood her ground, refusing to show any sign of irritation,

"Sir, it-"

"I do understand however, that you and Ace squadron are owed a substantial amount of leave time. I also understand how much it must pain you that all of Ace squadrons fighters were destroyed at Mistral." Ozpin said giving Weiss a suggestive look,

"But sir, the fighters-"

"Yes, new ones are indeed on the way to fill the empty hangar of your ship, in the meantime I suggest you and your fighter team take some time off." Weiss nodded, finally understanding what the General was saying. Her fighters were not on record, so they technically could not be stolen to be used in an unauthorised mission, due to them technically no longer existing. "Thank you sir, I'll see you after my vacation,"

"I hope to Captain Schnee, I sincerely hope to."

* * *

Qrow watched with pride as Ruby raced around the hangar, giving orders to her squadron and helping them prepare to leave. "Not a bad little operation you have running here," Qrow said as Ruby ran up to check in with him.

"Yeah, it's a lot better than when we were the Rebellion, a lot cleaner, a lot less snow."

"Your folks would be proud," Qrow said, ruffling her hair. Ruby smiled, but looked eager to continue her preparations. Qrow let her go, focusing his attention back on his ship.

Weiss strutted into the hangar, an excited look in her eye. Ruby raced over to talk, "Did he say yes?"

"Essentially, the ships are ours and we won't get court martialed."

"Excellent, now all that's left is too pull this thing off," Ruby said with a confident smile, betraying no fear.

"Well, you're in command of this mission, so as a fellow commander and possible casualty, I really hope this goes well," Weiss said with a smile.

Ruby hugged Weiss, whispering a few comforting words before heading over to get in her X-wing. Weiss turned now to face Qrow, as she would be copiloting his HWK. "Saddle up," Qrow said as he waved her over.

Weiss strapped into the seat beside Qrow, quickly familiarising herself with the ships controls. "Ruby says you have a clone working against us, and that you want to help her?" Weiss nodded,

"Yes, while Ruby and yourself go after Yang and Blake, I'm going to try and find my… sister," Weiss said hesitantly, as if testing to see if the word felt wrong in her mouth.

"Ruby said I'm to help you, apparently she cares quite a bit about your safety," Qrow said with a smirk. Weiss blushed,

"I feel the same way,"

"Well I hope you do, that kid is my family, you hurt her you'll have to answer to me." Qrow said firmly, starting the ships engines. Weiss rolled her eyes,

"Never imagined I would be the one getting this speech, especially not before a suicide mission."

"These things tend to sneak up on you," Qrow said, eyes flicking over to Ruby's X-wing, now slowly drifting out of the hangar.

Behind her, came the rest of Ace squadron, their ships now functional, though not fully repaired. "Alright everyone, Weiss is sending over the jump co-ordinates now. It's probably going to get a little hairy out there, so be careful."

"Roger that Ace leader," Jaune responded. Ruby nodded once, the numbers flashing onto her screen. Zwei beeped, giving Ruby the signal that the course was set. Ruby exhaled, hands finding their comfortable grip on the fighters controls. Pushing down the lever, the stars blurred and she jumped.

* * *

Winter stood in the control room of the shipyards defence systems. Rather than an independent defence platform, Atlas had theirs built in to the artificial ring that served as the ship building facilities. This way the shipyards benefited from the shielding capabilities of the defence platform. TIE fighter squadrons, assisted by the few Defender class fighters that Atlas was in possession of, stood at the ready to destroy any fighter attack.

Today the base was on high alert, Cinder having warned of an incoming attack. "Admiral, we have detected a small group of fighters jumping into the system,"

"Launch fighters, they have permission to destroy the craft." Winter ordered, deciding not to call on her star destroyers just yet. They waited around the other side of the planet, and could easily move to assist in a matter of minutes should the need arise.

* * *

Ace squadron and Qrow's HWK exited hyperspace in attack formation. Without the order being given everyone set their S-foils, Ion turrets and blaster cannons. Weiss was greeted with the familiar view of her home planet, the mostly ice covered world of Atlas. Last she had been here the shipyard itself was still in production, only half complete. That had been years ago, when she had left for the academy. "Their fighters have already launched, they knew we were coming!" Jaune said in a panic,

"We can't be sure, it might just be a patrol," Pyrrha said in an attempt to keep Jaune calm.

"Not in those numbers," Qrow said, adjusting his ship's shielding.

"It doesn't matter, we can deal with the fighters," Ruby said as she aimed directly for the TIE's. The odds were against her, it was unlikely her fighter could survive a direct attack on so many fighters. Yet she had something they didn't, something she was keen to try. Calling on the Force, Ruby felt her sense heighten.

Behind her the rest of the team tried to keep up, though hesitant, they couldn't let Ruby fight alone. Ruby fired first, nailing a TIE with a single shot. When the enemy fired back she juked, dived and rolled seamlessly, as if dancing through the storm of laser fire. She didn't turn around to engage the multitude of fighters she shot past, instead she aimed for the defence platform. In tune with the Force she could feel Yang. Surprisingly it was a familiar feeling, the warm sensation of simply knowing that her sister was near, now though she understood what that feeling had always been, could feel it to a greater degree.

Weiss watched Ace squadron engage the fighters, Qrow pulling the ship away from the main fight and chasing after Ruby.

"We got a pair of Imp's after us," Qrow mentioned offhandedly. Weiss got the hint and took control of the underside turret of the ship. Staring into the targeting computer in front of her, Weiss spun the turret to face behind them. The TIE's had expected the three-sixty degree angling of the turret, and were unprepared when the red bolts streaked towards them. "Nice shot," Qrow mumbled.

* * *

"Admiral they are coming directly at us,"

"Fire all cannons, if they manage to get through there will be demotions for everyone involved." The officer nodded, confident in his chances. Winter though was unsure, time and again the Rebel fighters had proven to be troublesome. Analysing their flight pattern Winter guessed at their intentions. "Send down two squads of stormtroopers to the main hangar."

* * *

"We're right behind you Ruby," Weiss said over the comms as they entered firing range of the defence platform. The turrets opened fire, creating a veritable maze of green spears. Qrow matched his nieces manoeuvring, sticking close. His larger ship however was not quite as agile. The HWK's shields busted as it was glanced by a pair of hits. "Are you guys okay?" Ruby asked anxiously.

"Go for the hangar, full speed Ruby. We might be a bit slower, but we are comign in right behind you" Qrow said

Ruby reluctantly sped up and dived for the hangar. "Hold on Weiss, this will probably end in a crash," Qrow admitted as he desperately avoided the stations attacks. Weiss sighed,

"It wouldn't be my first."

A bolt lanced through the wing of the HWK, sending into a spin. Qrow pulled ont he controls trying to even out. "Here we go!"

* * *

Ruby sprayed the hangar's entrance with laser fire. The turrets surrounding the hangar absorbed her blows and were destroyed, leaving the hangar undefended and easy to enter.

Drifting inside she was met with two groups of troopers pelting her fighter with blaster fire. Ruby fired back, her lasers blasting through the hull, and through the troopers. Managing to set down Ruby tore off her helmet and popped the canopy. Leaping down amid the remaining stormtroopers laser fire, Ruby whipped out her lightsaber. Before she had a chance to activate the blade, Qrow's HWK smashed into the hangar, sliding along the floor. Sparks flew, metal tore, and the rest of the troopers were squashed.

* * *

Winter's fists clenched and quivered. The holo feed of the hangar infuriated her. "Freeze it," she spat out angrily, the hologram freezing on the image of Weiss Schnee climbing down a broken ramp. "Stop them, stop those Rebels now!" Winter cried, stomping out of the command center.

* * *

"You guys sure know how to make an entrance," Ruby said as she grabbed Weiss' hand, helping her down from the crashed ship. Qrow stepped down by himself, looking reasonably grumpy,

"Lost my damn ship."

"I'm sure the Republic will compensate you," Ruby said comfortingly. Weiss grimaced,

"I doubt that, this is an unauthorized mission after all." Qrow glared, but shook himself out of it, hefting his blaster.

"We'll talk compensation later."

The three moved quickly and quietly through the station. Constantly they were forced into hiding, squads of stormtroopers hunting through the hallways. "The detention centre should be three floors down," Weiss whispered form behind Ruby, the pair peaking around the corner of the hallway.

"How hard will it be to get them out?"

"Not too hard, especially with that thing," Weiss said, looking at Ruby's lightsaber.

"Good, I'll go get them out, you two go and find Winter." Weiss leant down and kissed Ruby on the cheek, before her and Qrow dashed out and around the corner.

Ruby headed for the elevator, luckily not encountering any groups of roving troopers. Stepping inside Ruby keyed for the detention level. In the heat of the moment, with tensions high, the Force was harder for Ruby to grasp. When she did, Ruby was able to feel Yang's presence, now very close.

The door behind her slid open, Ruby spinning around to see the detention centre. The detention staff looked up at her, all stunned by her sudden presence. Ruby ignited her saber, running forward before the Imperials could draw their blasters. She flicked at the firsts wrist, stopping him from drawing his blaster, and disbanding his hand. The next, having successfully drawn their blaster, fired. Ruby's blade flashed before her and reflected the blast into his chest. The last of the Imperials dropped their weapon, raising their arms in surrender. Ruby threw as hard a punch as she could, knocking the Imperial down and out.

* * *

Yang heard a blaster go off outside her cell. A second later the door slid open, the exterior glowing with a blue haze. From behind the light came the face of Ruby. "Ruby!" Yang said in a panic, not sure whether to be relived or scared for her sister.

"It's alright Yang, I'm here to rescue you," Ruby said with her usual enthusiasm. Quickly she cut through Yang's bonds, "Ruby you shouldn't have come, Cinder is too dangerous, she set this up as a trap."

"I figured as much, but I wasn't about to let my sister rot in a cell, or worse." Or worse was right, though Yang didn't say it. "Come on, we have to get Blake," Ruby said, pulling her sister out of the cell, lightsaber guiding the way. To Yang, Ruby felt different, she sensed the same energy that she did in Blake, in Cinder and Neo, in herself. "You got my message then… You know about it," Yang said as Ruby keyed the controls on Blake's cell.

"Yes, I know about the Force, I don't know much, but I can control it now." Ruby rushed to Blake's side, the Faunus unconscious. Yang moved to her partners side, lifting her out of the bonds, Blake's eyes slowly opening.

"Yang?"

"I'm right here Blake, we're getting out of here."

Helping Blake to her feet, the three made their way out of the cell. "Ruby, I can feel…"

"Yeah, she figured it out," Yang admitted, shying away from Blake's smug smile.

"Now we have to figure out a good way out of here, my X-wing can't carry all five of us," Ruby said, stopping in the detention area's hall to think.

"Five? Who else did you rope into this?" Yang asked as she let Blake stand on her own.

"Weiss and Uncle Qrow, there in here with us. The rest of Ace squadron are outside making trouble."

"Qrow's here? And Weiss, oh hell, does she know about Winter?"

"Yes, that's why she came with us, to try and help Winter," Ruby said, finally picking a path out of the detention level. The elevator was too risky, they would have to take the long way out through the service tunnels. The three moved down the hall, Blake and Yang picking up the discarded blasters from the Imperials that Ruby had dealt with.

* * *

Jaune destroyed his third TIE fighter. "They're pulling back," Neptune reported as he went to chase down the remaining TIE's.

"Leave them, they're just fighters, let's trying hitting something big now." Jaune ordered, searching his scanners for something that seemed a plausible target.

"How about the shipyard itself, lot of exposed elements," Pyrrha suggested forming up on Jaune.

"All the better to blow up!" Nora said as she switched her controls over to her proton launchers.

"Alrighty then," Jaune said, targeting a half-finished star destroyer. "Standard bombing run, Ace two and three, cover our backs, there are bound to be more TIE's."

* * *

Qrow leapt into the group of stormtroopers, shoving two to the ground and disrupting the rest of the group. Weiss fired her pistol at the ones that remained standing, easily picking them off in the confusion. Qrow kicked hard at the helmets of the men on the ground, knocking them into unconsciousness. "Let's keep moving, that clone is bound to be around here somewhere," Qrow said as she stepped over the bodies. Behind him a blast door opened, revealing more troopers, and a very angry Winter.

"That 'clone' is right here, kill them," Winter commanded with a wave, troopers piling into the room and firing. Weiss pulled Qrow into a storage room off to the side, red blaster bolts painting the walls around him.

"Well, we found her." Qrow mumbled, ducking out to take a few shots.

"We have to separate her from those troops, I need to speak with her!" Weiss shouted over the sounds of blaster fire. Qrow sighed,

"I'll figure it out, good luck." Before Weiss could protest, Qrow dived out of the room, screaming obscenities and firing at the stormtroopers. Weiss heard the pounding of boots as the troopers raced after Qrow.

"I know you are still in there Weiss," Winter called from the hallway. "Stop hiding, it is unbefitting of a Schnee." Weiss scowled, stepping out from the storage room.

"I'm not hiding. I'm here to help you,"

"If you have come to turn over the Rebels, to stand trial for your crimes, then I will accept your help. Otherwise, I need nothing else from you."

"Winter, you need to listen to me. What you are doing, everything you have been told, is a lie. It's a lot to take in, it was for me, but if you continue following the Empire, you'll regret it."

"Is that a threat?" Winter asked, amused by Weiss' confidence.

"No, only a warning. I killed my father, I don't want to kill any more of my family," Weiss dropped her blaster as a sign of good faith.

"You betrayed and murdered our father, why do you think I would listen to you?"

"Because our father was a corrupt, power hungry monster. If he still lived you would have been subject to his games, and you would have hated him," Weiss said bitterly, the scar over her eye stinging with the pain of memory.

"So you did me a favor then?" Winter said sarcastically, walking over to retrieve Weiss' blaster. "Everything I do, is in his memory, in the memory of the once great Empire," Winter said softly, much closer to Weiss now.

"Then you serve the memories of an evil man, you are nothing but a tool," Weiss said in resignation. Winter slapped her, snarling at Weiss,

"I am no tool,"

"So father created you because he wanted another daughter to love? He didn't create you for his own purposes? Then you rise through the ranks to Admiral, under a new leader, one with no real claim to any remnants of the Empire?"

"You know nothing," Winter whispered, barely containing her rage. Weiss' head sunk,

"Please Winter, I can help you, I can tell you the truth." Winter stuck the blaster into Weiss' ribs, pushing her forward.

"You can meet my leader, and be judged for your crimes. Then we will find the truth."

* * *

The station shook as Ruby, Yang and Blake made their way through the dark service tunnels. "Sounds like your squadron is having fun," Yang commented as she scanned the tunnel for any more Imperials.

"Hopefully not too much, we are still onboard the station they are attacking," Blake said as she followed behind Yang. Ruby tried one of the doors exiting the tunnel, only to have a ray shield spring to life before she could open it. She tried again with a door a little further down, another shield appearing before her. "They are funnelling us somewhere," Blake said as she studied the doors on the other side of the tunnel.

"I have a very bad feeling about this," Yang said double checking her blaster was on the lethal setting.

"If Cinder shows up, Ruby, just run, get out of here," Yang pleaded with her sister.

"No Yang, I'm ready, I'm not going to leave you behind." Ruby was firm, unyielding. Blake and Yang shared a worried look.

Eventually, after several attempt to try and cut their way out of the service tunnel, Ruby, Blake and Yang were forced through the last door. The door slid open, the three stepping out into a tighter hallway, walls covered in technical equipment. It was dark, the only lights coming from Ruby's lightsaber and the glow of the control panels on the wall.

It all ended in another door, which opened to reveal a much larger room. Stepping out Ruby could see the back wall was a large reinforced window, looking out into space. Before it on a raised dais, sat a chair, surrounded by obscured figures. Everyone around the chair turned, Ruby recognizing Emerald and Mercury. Yang and Blake recognized Neo, and could feel the overbearing presence of Cinder. Off to the side they all saw Winter, holding Weiss prisoner. "Weiss!" Ruby cried out, moving towards her partner. Yang moved quickly to grab and stop her sister. Emerald and Mercury ignited their lightsabers, ad stepped down from the dais.

Cinder turned, smiling at her guests. "Welcome Ruby Rose, I have been eager to meet you."

"Let her go, then we'll leave and no one else has to get hurt," Ruby said, staring into Cinder's eyes and pointing at Weiss, ignoring Mercury and Emerald. The two acolytes tossed Blake and Yang their lightsabers.

"Sadly I cannot let any of you leave, I need you here to help test my apprentice. Take your Jedi weapons, and fight." Cinder said crossing her legs and watching with interest.

"We both know they are not your apprentices," Ruby said challengingly, "You don't want anyone else, any other Force user to oppose you. How long until you simply kill them," Ruby nodding towards the approaching acolytes. Cinder's smile faded, becoming a frown. Despite the accusation, Emerald, Mercury and Neo didn't react.

Yang ignited her lightsaber now, Cinder's disciples now within striking range. "Kill them," Cinder ordered.

Mercury lunged at Ruby, clashing blades with the fighter pilot. Yang swung at Emerald before she could attack Ruby, pushing her away. Blake joined Yang in fighting Emerald, the two working in tandem.

Weiss watched nervously as Ruby fought with Mercury. For Ruby, the fight proved to her the progress of her skills. She easily matched Mercury, the Force bridging any gap in swordsmanship.

Emerald was forced further away from Cinder, her mind wholly focused on defending herself from the pair of attacks that constantly rained down on her blade. Cinder looked to Neo and made a quick gesture, receiving an excited look in return.

Yang felt a tingle on the back of her neck, spinning around to see Neo leap forward with lightsaber in hand. Whipping up her own blade she was forced to the knee as Neo pushed down. Yang grit her teeth trying to push back, staring into the glowing eye of the rebuilt Neo.

Cinder turned away from the battle, "Winter, kill this traitor, she is no longer of use to us." Winter hesitated,

"Mistress, she deserves a trail, a public declaration of what happened to my father, she could have useful information."

"We have no time or need. She is not important, kill her and free yourself. She killed your father, helped destroy everything he stood for. When she dies, you will be the last true Schnee."

Cinder turned her attention back to the fight. Winter raised her blaster to Weiss' head, "How long before she no longer needs you?" Weiss asked, looking into Winter's eyes. Winter didn't relent, blaster still aimed at her head. Weiss sighed, "I'm sorry Winter,"

"I can't forgive you for killing our father,"

"Oh, I'm not sorry about that, I'm sorry about this." Weiss punched Winter, snatching the blaster from her hand. She spun as Winter reeled from the hit, aiming at Cinder. Before she could fire Cinder flicked a finger at her, sending her flying across the room, her shot going wide.

Ruby looked past Mercury as Weiss was sent flying. "Weiss!" She cried again, slamming her blade into Mercury's and shoving him to the left. She ran past him, heading for Weiss. Mercury jumped forward to stop her, Ruby snarled, swiping back and forth at Mercury. The fast swipes passed under Mercury's saber, slicing through his legs. He dropped with a scream of pain, lightsaber rolling form his hands.

Cinder grinned, feeling the power emanating from Ruby. "Very good Ruby, you can feel it now, the real strength of the Force." Ruby glared up at Cinder, only now feeling the power coursing through her. It wasn't like before, it was a hunger, a lust that tried to overtake her. She was a second away from leaping up on the dais and cutting down Cinder. "Ruby! Stay calm!" Blake shouted as she duelled Emerald,

"Remember… Who… You are!" Yang shouted from under Neo's barrage of attacks. Ruby let out a breath, letting her grasp on the Force slip.

"Oh, how disappointing, you were so close to impressing me." Cinder said with a frown, raising her hand as Weiss scrambled to her feet and tried to shoot again.

"No!" Ruby cried out, rushing towards Weiss as she was thrown by Cinder, only to have Weiss hit her and knock her down. The two fell back and tumbled across the cold metal floor.

Yang fought with herself, trying to contain her emotions as she saw Ruby fall to the ground. Neo held her back, playing with her, Yang unable to truly match her in her state of exhaustion, not yet recovered from her imprisonment. Her panic for her sister held her back from fully being able to immerse herself in the Force, less she tap into the darkside.

Blake glanced over to Yang, Emerald proving to only just be able to keep up with her. "Surrender, you can't beat me," Blake said as she ducked under a desperate swing. "I was an Inquisitor, like your master, she's manipulating you, like I was manipulated. I can help you." Emerald ignored her, swinging her blade down on Blake's defences. "Shut up, you're nothing compared to her." Blake disengaged, understanding what she had to do, now fully committing to the fight. After a few shaky blocks, Blake slipped in behind Emerald and sliced up her back. Emerald crumpled, Blake's blow intentionally strong enough to disable her, but light enough not to kill her.

Ruby got to her feet, reactivating her lightsaber. Weiss stood beside her, slightly battered but still standing. Ruby rushed forward, blade raised. Cinder stood up from her chair swiping with her hand and throwing Ruby across the room. "Honestly Ruby, you think you can stand up to me?"

Ruby wiped the trickle of blood that fell down her brow, "You bet I can." Cinder chuckled, taking a step forward to avoid a shot from Weiss. The blaster was then pulled from her hand, bouncing over towards Winter.

Weiss was unarmed, and Cinder needed something to push Ruby further. Cinder's hand formed into a grip, Weiss immediately arching her back and gasping in pain. She felt as if she was being crushed, but with the air being pushed out of her she couldn't scream. Ruby growled and went to attack again, only to be thrown back. "Come on Ruby, I know you can do better than this. All you have to do is give in, you can save Weiss. Maybe I will let you join me, maybe even Weiss here could return to her duties as an Imperial captain. I could even make her an Admiral, if I had a real Schnee I wouldn't need the clone."

Cinder heard the gasp and realized she had forgotten about Winter. Weiss looked to Winter in desperation, tears falling from her eyes as the pain threatened to overcome her.

Blake and Yang set upon Neo, trying desperately to finish her off so they could help Ruby. "Just die!" Yang screamed as she bashed at Neo with her saber. In this state she couldn't trust herself to use the Force, but she was still physically strong and quick enough to be a threat.

Neo was stronger than before. Her mechanical replacements let her challenge Yang directly, and her new training in the Force let her keep Blake busy. She threw what objects she could to keep Blake back, fighting Yang with her lightsaber.

"I won't join you," Ruby said softly, staring at Weiss in her helpless state. Cinder shrugged,

"Then your friend here will die, and so will you." Winter picked up the blaster at her feet, firing at Cinder, the bolt taking her in the thigh. Weiss dropped to the floor, no longer held, and instead Cinder flung Winter away. Ruby took her chance and charged again. Her blade arced towards Cinder, forcing her to roll away. Ruby didn't let up, and swung down again, Cinder only managing to force Ruby back slightly with the Force. When Ruby came at Cinder again she pulled Mercury's discarded lightsaber to her hand to block.

"Surrender," Ruby ordered as their lightsabers crackled against each other. Cinder focused herself again, drawing on the darkside and throwing Ruby off her saber.

Neo twirled past Yang's strike, then slapped aside Blake's stab. With the flourish of her blade she cut into one of the wall panels, spraying sparks down onto both Yang and Blake. Blake dashed through the sparks, lunging at Neo. The blade slid over Neo's and cut across her robotic leg. Next Yang charged her, her shoulder knocking Neo into the broken panel. Arcs of electricity coursed over her body, her mechanical limbs sparking as they shorted out. Slumping against the wall, Neo's robotic eye faded, her robotic limbs still twitching.

Now Ruby, Yang and Blake stood unchallenged before Cinder.

* * *

Jaune fired his last pair of proton torpedoes, this time at one of the attacking star destroyers. They were in a lot of trouble now, the full defence fleet of Atlas had come to destroy them. "Stay close to the station; we just have to wait until Ruby is ready to go." Jaune repeated, praying that Ruby would hurry up. The star destroyers guns couldn't fire at them without damaging the station, so all they had to deal with was the TIE's. There shields were damaged, energy low, stress building. "Come on Ruby, don't let me down."

* * *

"Not bad, you have defeated by servants. I had hoped you would have destroyed each other, but it is clear that I underestimated you." Cinder said, pulling Emeralds saber into her other hand. Ruby leant down to check that Weiss was still alive, breathing a sigh of relief as she found her pulse.

"It's over Cinder, you're no real Sith, while we are no real Jedi, we outnumber you," Blake said. Cinder store daggers at the former Inquisitor.

"Numbers, size, physical strength? You think these can beat me?"

"Yup," Yang said loudly, gripping her saber in both hands. Cinder rolled her eyes,

"I let you escape, I even gave you your weapons back. I wanted you and my apprentices to wipe each other out. There can be only one of us, that rule would have saved the Emperor. I let you come here, because I knew you could never defeat me."

"You underestimated us before, and you're doing it again," Ruby said as she moved first, slicing upwards at Cinder, who easily blocked with one of her sabers. Before Yang could intervene, Cinder brought down her other blade, slicing across Ruby's eye.

"No!" Yang yelled as she swung at Cinder. Blake jumped, flipping over Cinder and swinging her blade as she came down behind her. Cinder caught both their baldes, pushing them both back with the Force. Ruby, despite the pain, thrust again, Yang and Blake also attacking in synchronicity. Cinder deflected each blow from the trio, pushing and pulling where she needed to throw them all of balance.

It became a dance of blades. They crashed and crackled against each other, the wielders of each blade pushing themselves to their limits.

Cinder growled, she had seen Vader do better than this, easily cutting down whatever Jedi he faced. Maybe it was true that she was no Sith, not yet, but she was still more powerful than these three could ever hope to be. She lashed out, slicing through her chair and sending it crashing into Blake, knocking the girl of the dais. Yang didn't let her concentration slip, she knew Blake was alright, and that more than anything she need Yang to stop Cinder. Cinder's attention turned to Yang next, now using the Force to drain the energy that poured off of Yang. Yang's blows weakened, allowing Cinder to send her reeling and tumbling with a Force fuelled kick.

Now only Ruby stood, barely keeping up with Cinder even with Yang and Blake's help. Now, all alone, Cinder forced her back with blade work alone. Ruby faltered under the pressure of a duel wielding opponent. "It's over, you'll die just like your mother, and your father," Cinder said with an evil smile. Ruby looked shocked, before her rage flooded into her and she attacked blindly. Cinder laughed at the girls feeble attempts, easily knocking the girls weapon aside and severing her hand. The pain overcame Ruby and she fell, her eye and hand shooting electrical jolts of pain through her.

Cinder had won. All her enemies lay before her, her ascension truly complete. Now she could think of facing Skywalker, then she would be unrivaled. Unstoppable.

"You bitch," A gruff voice said from across the room. Cinder looked up to see a scruffy looking man charging at her. Cinder reacted on instinct and jabbed at him with her blades. The man dodged easily, throwing a punch and hitting her chin. She swiped now, the man stepping under her blade and upper cutting her. Before he could throw another punch, Cinder stabbed him. The blade passed through him, earning a grunt of surprise. Licking the blood from her lips Cinder let out a single laugh, "Not bad, you're very brave, but very stupid." Cinder looked into his eyes, expecting to see pain, fear, sorrow. She found none in his familiar eyes. "This is for Tai, for Summer, and for Raven." He flung something from his belt onto the large window behind them. Cinder turned her head quickly to see the grenade clink off the window and explode. The transparent wall shattered, the vacuum of space sucking her, and the man, out into the cold.

Before any of the others could fly free and join Cinder and Qrow, the blast shield activated and slid over the viewport.

Weiss had watched Qrow, had managed to grab Ruby before she too was pulled into space. Her body still hurt, but she was alive, and had to help everyone escape. Winter too stood on shaky legs, her head still aching from hitting the wall so hard. She watched as Weiss scrambled, crying, to help Ruby. The girl cradled in Weiss' arms was barely conscious and in a lot of pain. This was the monster who killed her father, crying over the woman she loved.

Winter grabbed Yang, shaking her awake and pulling her to her feet without question. She then went to Weiss, helping lift Ruby. The two exchanged a look, Weiss' one of thanks, Winter's one of shame. "It's not your fault," Weiss whispered, "They tricked and corrupted so many of us." Winter nodded, she had been a tool. She saw in Weiss' eyes something she had never seen before. She looked at Winter like a real person, not a clone, or a means to an end. She didn't know how much she had needed someone to look at her like that before.

Yang and Blake leant on each other for support, and together with Ruby, Weiss and Winter, they made their way to the hangar bay.

* * *

"Jaune!" Sun cried out in shock.

"What! What's wrong!" Jaune replied in a panic,

"There is a shuttle leaving the station,"

"So what!" Jaune said as he fired at another TIE. Sun groaned,

"It has to be Ruby and the others!" Jaune smacked himself for not thinking, too focused on fighting for his life. With a few flicks on his control panel he commed the shuttle, "This is Ace squadron, please tell me you're on our side and we can leave."

"Ace squadron, form up on us, we are going to need cover to get out of here," Weiss replied. Jaune let out a deep breath, pulling his X-wing towards the shuttle, Ace squadron soaring beside him. Ruby's X-wing drifted out of the hangar, Zwei sending a message that he was in control over the squadrons comms.

"Everyone, set deflectors too double front, we're going to have to run another gauntlet."

* * *

The shuttle made the jump to hyperspace, the occupants all visibly relaxing. Yang strode over to the medical bed that Ruby was propped up on. What little bacta the ship had was being used to treat Ruby's damaged hand and eye. "Hey there Rubes,"

"Hey… Yang," Ruby said softly, exhausted. Yang stroked her hair tenderly, trying to ignore Ruby's wounds. "Yang, I get it now," Ruby whispered,

"Get what?"

"The struggle, the thing you talked about on the datachip. I felt it, the darkside, I had never really felt it before now, so I thought I was fine but…" Yang brushed the hair from Ruby's face,

"It's a constant struggle, but you did well."

"Yang I nearly…"

"Don't think about it. I failed, Blake did as well, but we kept going. You're new to this, we all are."

"I don't think I should use it again… If I hurt someone…"

"You won't," Yang said confidently. "I'll teach you a trick, one I'm still learning myself, but it's helped me. Close your eyes, think of all the people you love. Me, Weiss, Qrow," Yang saying her uncle's name a little shakily. "Dad, Summer, me," Yang referencing herself a second time caused Ruby to smile. "That feeling, it's the only thing I have ever found that truly drives away all the darkness. You can't stop being who you are, and the Force is part of that."

Ruby shut her eyes, an expression of serenity coming over. With a happy sigh, she fell asleep. Yang got up and went to sit next to Blake, "It's really over then,"

"Yup, we won." Yang said, pulling Blake towards her.

* * *

 **Three months later…**

It was hard to believe, that her journey had just begun. After all the trials and tribulations that had landed her here, to think that this was the beginning, the start of something new. The wind rustled the trees that sat behind Ruby, sending leaves flying out and off of the cliff. Qrow Branwen, Taiyang Xiao Long, Summer Rose. The names were carved into the stones that sat on the cliff. They were not real graves, just reminders of the people that had sacrificed themselves for Ruby, and for the betterment of the galaxy.

This was Ruby's first proper visit since Yang and her had placed the stones. She had spent the last few hours regaling them with the tales of her life. Ones they knew, some they didn't. Most of all she spoke of the future. "Weiss and I are thinking of getting married, though we are still arguing on whether we have a big wedding or a small one. Oh, that and who is going to propose, we haven't decided who gets to do that either."

"Yang and Blake have gone off to adventure, she said she would visit often, help out if we needed it. She changed after the fight with Cinder, she's happier. For her and Blake, it means there truly free now."

"Winter has joined the Republic, she even helped bring Atlas into the Republic, and is like a senator now."

"Jaune and the others? They're great, we all got a very nice extended leave, they might even start paying us the backlog we accrued while with the Rebellion. Now all I have to worry about is Nora gambling it all away."

Ruby flexed her robotic hand, reaching up to adjust the cloth she used as an eye patch, that hid her wounded eye. She was still unsure, uncomfortable about getting a replacement. They were her mother's eyes, she had been told, and couldn't bear the thought of ever replacing one of them. "Me? Well, I'm not sure. I'm still worried about my own power, worried I might be tired of fighting." Ruby sighed, looking down at the grass. She stood quickly when she heard the sounds of someone approaching, hand reflexively going for her lightsaber. From the woods behind her strode a hooded figure. "Who are you?" She asked thumb sliding towards the activation switch on her lightsaber. The figure raised his hands to pull back his hood, one of which was gloved. "I'm looking for Ruby Rose, I heard you might be out here" The man had blonde hair and a relaxed face. Her wore black underneath his brown cloak, and appeared to also carry a lightsaber. "I'm Ruby, but you still didn't answer my question,"

"Oh, sorry, I'm Luke Skywalker." Ruby's eyebrows raised in surprise. She clipped her lightsaber back onto her belt,

"Oh, uh, it's a pleasure to meet you, what can I do for you?"

Luke smiled and walked over to inspect the grave stones. He grew solemn as he looked over the names, "I'm sorry for your loss." Ruby nodded, looking back at the stones.

"They all died heroes; sacrificed themselves to save me." Luke smiled softly, thinking back to those he had lost. "Is it true, that you're a Jedi?" Ruby asked, turning to look at Luke. Luke nodded,

"Yes, I'm a Jedi Knight, like my father." Ruby smiled, looking up at the sky, wondering if this was her chance.

"I was wondering if maybe… Maybe I could be one too, my father was a Jedi as well." Luke smiled, resting a hand on Ruby's shoulder,

"I have heard a lot about you, and everything tends to suggest you would make a fine Jedi. If you are sure it's what you want, then I would be happy to help." Ruby looked down at her father's gravestone, a tear rolling down her eye. She thought back to the promise she had made to herself, to follow the path of her father. "Yes, I would be honoured."

* * *

 **THAT'S ALL FOLKS. Thank you all so much for reading, it has truly been one of the best experiences of my life (so far) writing this and being able to share it with everyone. Fear not though, whilst this story ends, I have plenty more I cannot wait to tell you. Now more than ever I would love to hear what you guys thought, of the story as a whole or maybe just this chapter, or anything you guys liked or disliked. So until next we meet,  
** _ **MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU...**_


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